Cardiff make fast start after transfer window opens

[Fernhurst]

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE AFC Bournemouth: Cherries accept Cardiff bid for Grabban

3 million apparently

[FPT]

Good signing, however, he's only just started scoring seriously at Bournemouth - he's settled there. That £3m will go very far for Bournemouth, a club naturally sized for mid table in League One, yet pushed the Championship play offs last season.

I like to think Fulham have more "ambition" than that, it's transfer that I'm happier for the owners of Grabban, rather than the buyers.

[Fernhurst]

BID ACCEPTED: Cherries striker Lewis Grabban
STRIKER Lewis Grabban looks set to leave Dean Court after Cherries tonight confirmed they had accepted an offer from Championship rivals Cardiff City.

The undisclosed bid – which is understood to have triggered a £3million release clause in Grabban's contract – was tabled by the Bluebirds this afternoon.

As a result, Cherries were obliged to give Grabban permission to speak to the recently-relegated Premier League outfit and he is due to head to south Wales to discuss personal terms.


Should he finalise a move to the Cardiff City Stadium, it would represent a record fee received by Cherries, dwarfing the £1m paid by Burnley for Danny Ings in August 2011.

And it would also see Cherries bank £1.9m more than they would have had he joined Brighton in January after the Seagulls had met a £1.1m release clause in his previous contract.

Grabban joined Cherries in a £300,000 deal from Rotherham two years ago and the Yorkshire outfit are understood to be entitled to a percentage of any potential sale.

Speculation surrounding Grabban's future mounted after the season had ended with Cardiff, Middlesbrough, Brighton and Crystal Palace all linked with
And reports which surfaced this morning suggested Boro were leading the race for the south Londoner, with Sky Sports claiming the Teessiders had made an "approach" and an "official move" for the player.

However, Cardiff, managed by former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, made the first move and clearly see Grabban as the perfect foil for new signing Javi Guerra from Real Valladolid.

Grabban saw his stock rise sharply after netting 22 times for Cherries last season, finishing the campaign as one of the leading goalscorers in the Championship.

He committed his future to Cherries and was rewarded with an improved three-and-a-half year deal after rejecting Brighton's overtures four months ago.

In an interview with the Daily Echo on Saturday, Grabban said: "People might look at where we have come from and the stadium and see us as a small club but we have a wealthy owner so it doesn't look like we need to sell players."

And on being linked with former club Palace, he added: "As a player, it is a compliment to be linked with other clubs. Everyone has ambitions to play in the Premier League."



SCORED 22 goals this season...... Problem identified and solution shipped in

[God The Mechanic]

He's not the type of player we should be after.  If we're signing current Championship players they need to be no older than 22 with genuine potential.  As soon as we start being happy buying Championship players we will become a Championship team, not one aiming for promotion.

[Wingnut]

He's not the type of player we should be after.  If we're signing current Championship players they need to be no older than 22 with genuine potential.  As soon as we start being happy buying Championship players we will become a Championship team, not one aiming for promotion.

Totally agree. Any of our buys need to be young top end Championship players with the ability to develop into PL standard footballers.

[Fernhurst]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.  094.gif

Fulham players thriving on additional training sessions  :dead horse:

[The Rock]

Wow Ings went for 1m? Grabban for 3m? I like these young players on the cheap that have potential!

Anyone know if we have any scouts? Woy's scouts found some Grasshoppers and Molde players by the seaside somewhere far far away. Hangeland for 2m right?

Surely our new clueless owner and the board can find someone half as good for twice the price.

[FPT]

Wow Ings went for 1m? Grabban for 3m? I like these young players on the cheap that have potential!

Anyone know if we have any scouts? Woy's scouts found some Grasshoppers and Molde players by the seaside somewhere far far away. Hangeland for 2m right?

Surely our new clueless owner and the board can find someone half as good for twice the price.

To be fair, he'd scored 6 goals in the two years before this one... Eddie Howe had faith in Danny Ings' development, Bournemouth probably thought they'd stolen £1m from Burnley.

Lewis Grabban is 26, and has been knocking around League One for a while, not scoring double figures until 12-13, though he did score 21 in League Two for Rotherham the season before that.

We have scouts... Of course we do. I do find it funny though that you only quoted one player that "scouts" found, scouts or Roy Hodgson knowing Scandinavian football?

Mousa Dembele was scouted by Barry Simmonds, Roy Hodgson voted against the signing.

In terms of other "unknowns," we've brought in Pavel Pogrebnyak, Pajtim Kasami and Ashkan Dejagah...

Also, I don't want our owner finding anybody to buy... What sort of football club is that?

[HatterDon]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.  094.gif

Fulham players thriving on additional training sessions  :dead horse:

I understand Mitroglou will be fit for next Saturday's match.

[Walsh]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.  094.gif

Fulham players thriving on additional training sessions  :dead horse:

I understand Mitroglou will be fit for next Saturday's match.

I laughed.

I'm worried about our squad, I don't even think half of them are Championship standard, never mind Premiership!

[The Rock]

Wow Ings went for 1m? Grabban for 3m? I like these young players on the cheap that have potential!

Anyone know if we have any scouts? Woy's scouts found some Grasshoppers and Molde players by the seaside somewhere far far away. Hangeland for 2m right?

Surely our new clueless owner and the board can find someone half as good for twice the price.

To be fair, he'd scored 6 goals in the two years before this one... Eddie Howe had faith in Danny Ings' development, Bournemouth probably thought they'd stolen £1m from Burnley.

Lewis Grabban is 26, and has been knocking around League One for a while, not scoring double figures until 12-13, though he did score 21 in League Two for Rotherham the season before that.

We have scouts... Of course we do. I do find it funny though that you only quoted one player that "scouts" found, scouts or Roy Hodgson knowing Scandinavian football?

Mousa Dembele was scouted by Barry Simmonds, Roy Hodgson voted against the signing.

In terms of other "unknowns," we've brought in Pavel Pogrebnyak, Pajtim Kasami and Ashkan Dejagah...

Also, I don't want our owner finding anybody to buy... What sort of football club is that?

Good. Thanks for that reply, and I am not taking the piss. Players take time to develop of course. I am just bitter as I'd like to see more players with potential and we haven't sourced hardly any in 3 years outside of our youth squad. I am ready for any sort of exciting signing with potential.

[MasterHaynes]

I don't understand this, Cardiff sign a player who has only just started scoring in the championship for £3m, which I'm sure will be an immediate cash call of £3m, and its a great signing and have a discussion about Fulham signing him or a similar type player.
We sign a proven international and champions league goal scorer who was injured but has worked his way back from injury and yet the view from many seems to be we should cut our losses and just try and get as much money back as possible. Because he has not played in the Championship(which makes him a worse player?) he will not be as good as average championship players at best.
Fulham paid £6m up front and the rest over the 4 years of his contract related to appearances. having watched him for the fhandful of minutes he came on at Stoke he still showed  experience, movement and strength. I know which player I would prefer in the Fulham team next season and it would not be a 'proven championship player', just hope Felix can keep him even if its only until the January window and we don't lose him to a Champions league team in the summer after the world cup.

[JBH]

For Bournemouth to sell there best goal scorer shows just how much debt they are carrying at the moment

[FFC1987]

I suspect this early signing is due to Frazier Campbells situation where according to reports he wants out and has stated he won't be a Cardiff player next season. Behind the scenes he is being a hand full apparently. I wouldn't be surprised if this was part of the swiftness.

[Deanothefulhamfan]

I think Mitro is too good for the championship, and will be hugely surprised if he is still with us after the WC.

Strange from Bournemouth, they have been a very decent side under Howe, but to lose their biggest asset already must be worrying for their fans.

[MasterHaynes]

I think Mitro is too good for the championship, and will be hugely surprised if he is still with us after the WC.

Strange from Bournemouth, they have been a very decent side under Howe, but to lose their biggest asset already must be worrying for their fans.

Unless Howe has seen and knows something that others are yet to learn, maybe he has cashed in at the players max value before he hits his ceiling. I Have a lot of tine for Howe, excellent coach like Roy achieves thing way above what one would expect with his squad

[Bedford White]

I think Mitro is too good for the championship, and will be hugely surprised if he is still with us after the WC.

Strange from Bournemouth, they have been a very decent side under Howe, but to lose their biggest asset already must be worrying for their fans.

I dont agree that Mitro is too good to play for us in the Championship, its a bit like saying someones over qualified for a job, its a nonsence. He's a Fulham player, we're in the Championship. If he's worth his weight he'll be scoring for fun and loving every minute of it. Of course there is the risk that he'll have a good WC and Champions League teams may come in for him. If thats the case then we could sell and make a few £m which can be spent on replacing him. Either way its a win win for us.

[FPT]

I think Mitro is too good for the championship, and will be hugely surprised if he is still with us after the WC.

Strange from Bournemouth, they have been a very decent side under Howe, but to lose their biggest asset already must be worrying for their fans.

Bournemouth are a small fish in a giant big pond, Dean Court only holds 12k, so £3m is a huge amount of money - Bournemouth's most expensive ever signing is £2.5m (Tokelo Rantie - last summer), second place is £800k. And the most they've ever sold a player for (until now) is when Danny Ings went to Burnley as a 19 year old for £1m.

[ToodlesMcToot]

I don't understand this, Cardiff sign a player who has only just started scoring in the championship for £3m, which I'm sure will be an immediate cash call of £3m, and its a great signing and have a discussion about Fulham signing him or a similar type player.
We sign a proven international and champions league goal scorer who was injured but has worked his way back from injury and yet the view from many seems to be we should cut our losses and just try and get as much money back as possible. Because he has not played in the Championship(which makes him a worse player?) he will not be as good as average championship players at best.
Fulham paid £6m up front and the rest over the 4 years of his contract related to appearances. having watched him for the fhandful of minutes he came on at Stoke he still showed  experience, movement and strength. I know which player I would prefer in the Fulham team next season and it would not be a 'proven championship player', just hope Felix can keep him even if its only until the January window and we don't lose him to a Champions league team in the summer after the world cup.

Obviously most are ticked off that Fulham wasted an opportunity to get in a player who could've pitched in to try and save us and wasted money on a sick note. Most likely also assume that he's going to be leaving us rather quickly. With that in mind, it's pretty easy put him down and get more excited about a Championship player.

I'd take Mitro in a hearbeat. If we got him the ball, I think he'd run rampant.

[King_Crud]

I think Mitro is too good for the championship, and will be hugely surprised if he is still with us after the WC.

Strange from Bournemouth, they have been a very decent side under Howe, but to lose their biggest asset already must be worrying for their fans.

Unless Howe has seen and knows something that others are yet to learn, maybe he has cashed in at the players max value before he hits his ceiling. I Have a lot of tine for Howe, excellent coach like Roy achieves thing way above what one would expect with his squad

says he has a release clause that's been met, not much Howe can do