Wednesday Fulham Stuff (04/07/18)...

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Everton, West Ham or Fulham: Which club is the best fit for Plea?

Nice striker Alassane Plea has emerged as an alleged transfer target for Everton, West Ham United and Fulham this summer.

OGC Nice striker Alassane Plea is being chased by multiple Premier League clubs including Everton, West Ham United and Fulham, as reported by Sky Sports.

The Ligue 1 side, now managed by Patrick Vieira, are supposedly open to selling Plea, who scored 20 goals last season during Nice's top-half finish.

Every Love Island contestant if they were an England international: World Cup!

The 25-year-old started out at Lyon before switching to his current club in August 2014 and to date he has scored 44 goals in all competitions.

Sky Sports claim West Ham have tabled an official offer of £27 million, and French publication Le 10 Sport have reported that Newcastle have also lodged a bid, which has been rejected.

With interest in the Frenchman heavy, just which Premier League club would be the best move for the striker? Tottenham Hotspur may have been one of the first teams in for Plea, and could make use of him if they were to sell Fernando Llorente, with Harry Kane the undisputed number one.

West Ham are desperate to secure a big deal this summer and, while securing Plea would probably appease the fans, they already have Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez competing for the central striking role.

Everton signed Cenk Tosun in January, but have very few striking options other than the Turk and could therefore have a greater need to sign Plea this summer than their Premier League rivals.

The Toffees are also allegedly interested in Plea, which could be a good move for all parties with Oumar Niasse's future at the club uncertain according to Fanatik.

Premier League new boys Fulham also have a great need for someone like Plea, since there is no guarantee that the Cottagers will be able to sign Aleksandar Mitrovic permanently. He would likely see the most game time at the London club than any of the other teams mentioned.



http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2018/07/03/with-several-teams-reportedly-interested-just-which-club-is-the/

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Newcastle have bid for Plea rejected by Nice

Newcastle have had a bid rejected by Nice for Alassane Plea, who is also wanted by West Ham, Tottenham and Fulham.

West Ham are believed to have offered around £26.5m for the French striker, who has attracted interest from several clubs.

Spurs watched him for much of last season, while Fulham have identified him as a possible signing following their promotion back to the Premier League.

West Ham made the first move, with boss Manuel Pellegrini keen to boost their attacking options before the new season starts.

Newcastle then made an approach in the hope of taking Plea to St James' Park this summer, but Nice want more money.

Plea, 25, began his career at Lyon and has impressed since joining Nice in 2014.

He scored 20 goals last season and reports in France have suggested that a host of European clubs have been showing an interest.

Reports in France have also previously suggested that Tottenham offered around £23m for Plea and that Nice could be willing to sell him for around £27m.

Plea, who can operate as a winger, has represented France at Under-21 and various other age levels.



http://londonfootballnews.co.uk/west-ham/football-transfers-updated-newcastle-chase-west-ham-tottenham-fulham-target-030718/

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DEAL CLOSE Fulham expect to sign Newcastle striker Aleksandar Mitrovic

The Serb striker helped the Whites earn promotion to the Premier League while on loan last season

Fulham are closing in on the signing of Newcastle striker Aleksandar Mitrovic and expect to complete a deal when the Serb striker returns from holiday.

Mitrovic was loaned out to Fulham in January last season and scored 12 goals in 18 appearances to help fire the Whites into the Premier League via the play-offs.


Mitrovic was central to Fulham's promotion

According to the Telegraph, the west London club have agreed a fee in principle with the Magpies, with only terms of payment left to negotiate. A deal is expected to go through by the end of the month.

Fulham look set to smash their previous transfer record to land the 23-year-old. Newcastle want around £20m, which is significantly more than the £12.4 Fulham paid Olympiacos for Konstantinos Mitroglou in 2014.

The news will be music to the ears of Whites fans. Mitrovic was an integral part of the club's 23-game unbeaten run in the Championship and became something of a cult hero at Craven Cottage last season.

His performances at the World Cup may well have increased his value – he scored the first goal in Serbia's 2-1 defeat to Switzerland and was menacing throughout the group stage before Serbia were eliminated.



https://talksport.com/football/394403/fulham-newcastle-aleksandar-mitrovic/

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Fulham should look at Bristol City's Joe Bryan as Matt Targett alternative

Fulham are reportedly keen to sign Southampton's Matt Targett.

According to a recent report in Sky Sports, Fulham lodged a £10 million move for Southampton left-back Matt Targett though it was said the Saints have no interest in selling the player.

Targett spent the past six months on loan at Fulham and played a key role in their promotion to the Premier League via the Championship playoffs. It comes as little surprise to see them seek a permanent deal.

But with Southampton reportedly uninterested in selling the youngster, Fulham should turn their attentions to another promising left-back in Bristol City's highly-rated Joe Bryan.

It was reported in the Mirror (live transfer thread, July 3rd at 14:31) that the Robins ace has attracted plenty of attention this summer, with Premier League duo Bournemouth and Burnley among the suitors.

With only one year left on his Ashton Gate contract, Bryan would arguably be available at a cheaper price than Targett and at 24 years of age he is further down the line in terms of his development.

Bryan netted an impressive seven goals in all competitions last season, and he was without doubt one of the best left-backs outside the Premier League with manager Lee Johnson raving over his ability.

After reaching the League Cup semi-finals with Bryan netting the winner against Manchester United, Johnson told the Bristol Post how he believed his attacking fullback was already at Champions League level.

"Joe Bryan is a Champions League player, without question. He's a top player. I can honestly say he's done that twenty times in the last four or five games in training," said Johnson after Bryan's match-winning goal.

Targett was a catalyst for Ryan Sessegnon to push forward and become one of Fulham's key men in their promotion success, therefore signing a left-back this summer is a priority for the west London club.

Bryan would be perfect in Slavisa Jokanovic's attacking style, and he could provide Sessegnon with the ammunition to continue his stellar progress and be a real hit in the Premier League.



http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2018/07/04/tt-fulham-signing-bristol-citys-joe-bryan-instead-of-targett-wou/

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Fulham's predicted starting XI for the opening day shows where reinforcements are needed

We've taken a look at what Fulham's starting XI would be if they had to take on Palace with the current squad

Fulham get their Premier League campaign up and underway in just over a month's time when they play host to Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage, but who will start their game remains a mystery.

At the moment, there are only 16 first team members of the squad, not including some of the Academy graduates, that have started pre-season training at Motspur Park after Fulham lost their loanees that boosted the side last season.

There will no doubt be incomings over the next month, with the deal for Aleksandar Mitrovic to resign from Newcastle United looking to be completed by the end of July while further incomings are on the horizon.

Slavisa Jokanovic will no doubt have wanted most of the dealings done as quickly as possible so he can get his team ready for the upcoming campaign, but for the moment, he will have to get the players he has at his disposal ready for their first pre-season friendly in the form of Crawley Town on Saturday.

In the build up to the new season, we've predicted what the starting XI could be from the players Jokanovic has at the club at this moment in time, and it shows the level of recruitment that will be needed for the upcoming campaign in the top flight.

Goalkeeper - Marcus Bettinelli

Bettinelli will no doubt be Fulham's number one come that first game of the season against Palace, having come on leaps and bounds last season in the Championship.

He'll be wanting to really push on after the reviews he was getting towards the back end of last season, where there was even talk of England scouts watching him with a view to a possible call-up to the national squad.

Right back - Cyrus Christie

Signed in January for the eventuality of Ryan Fredericks leaving, Christie will most likely be the starting right back for that game in August at Craven Cottage.

Despite not featuring as regularly after signing, he showed snippets of his quality, while Jokanovic also put him on as a substitute in key moments, showing the faith and trust the head coach had in the Irishman.

Centre back - Tim Ream

Fulham's player of the season and an absolute colossal in defence last season, Ream will get his chance back in the Premier League at the heart of the side's defence.

Centre back - Marcelo Djalo

With Fulham having no recognised left backs at the moment, if this squad was to take on Palace on the opening day, Marcelo Djalo would have to start at centre half.

Jokanovic wasn't impressed with him after he signed and he certainly won't be the starting centre half come the first game of the season, but it highlights that the centre back and left back areas need work this summer.

Left back - Denis Odoi

Ended the season as Fulham's first choice centre back along with Ream, the Belgian would have to start out on the left with the side needing to add depth in that department.

Matt Targett is on the list of players they want to return, but he's heading out to China with Southampton on pre-season, while other reported target, Ludwig Augustinsson, is still at the World Cup with Sweden.

Central midfield - Kevin McDonald

Part of Fulham's key trio in the middle of the park, McDonald has returned to pre-season and he'll most likely be the man to sit in that holding role when Fulham take on Palace.

Central midfield - Tom Cairney

Fulham's captain and talisman, there was talk that West Ham wanted to sign him again this summer but he returned to pre-season and will be leading the side out in the top flight next season.

The midfield is probably the area where the side need the least amount of strengthening.

Central midfield - Stefan Johansen

Has had a solid two seasons at Fulham since signing from Celtic, he'll most likely continue in this midfield trio that the Whites use to such good success when they start their campaign.

Right forward - Aboubakar Kamara

Struggled initially at Fulham but showed a marked improvement towards the end of the season to win himself a place in Jokanovic's side.

He looked to be a striker when he signed at the club, but does look better utilised from a wide right position where he can use his speed to beat players into space - something he did well at Wembley.

However, I think this is another problem area for the side that needs addressing before the start of the season.

Left forward - Ryan Sessegnon

There's no doubting that Fulham's wonderkid will be starting from a forward left position when the team get their campaign underway, although he'll find the going a bit tougher this season.

Exposure to this level of football at such a young age is only going to do wonders for his career.

Striker - Rui Fonte

Another area that needs reinforcements, with Mitrovic looking likely to be the man leading the line come the first game of the season if Fulham can get the deal over the line.

At the moment however, Fonte would be the man leading the line if this squad was to start that game against Palace at the Cottage.



https://www.football.london/fulham-fc/fulhams-predicted-starting-xi-opening-14860708