Saturday Fulham Stuff - 15/06/19...

[WhiteJC]

What does the future hold for Jean Seri and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa?

The midfield pair endured miserable campaigns for Fulham but is there light at the end of their seemingly dark tunnels?

Deadline-day transfers are usually met with a level of skepticism owing to the accompanying panic-buy price tag. However, when a club opts to smash their transfer record on the final day of the window, the average critic is inclined to believe the necessary due diligence was undertaken before the splurge.

Nonetheless, there were doubts when Fulham opted to sign Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa for £30 million in the closing stages of last year's summer window, given he'd only just played his first breakthrough season in 2017/18 with Olympique de Marseille.

It was their 15th signing of the window and Slavisa Jokanovic faced the uphill task of getting his side to play with the required synergy in a short space of time.

Another top signing for the Cottagers was Jean Michael Seri. The deep-lying playmaker arrived from another French side, OGC Nice after impressing over a couple of seasons.

At the time it seemed a coup, given how highly rated he was, while taking into consideration a plethora of top guns had been linked with him previously.

In 2017, Barcelona legend Xavi spoke glowingly about Seri when Los Cules were reportedly interested in acquiring the midfield controller , labeling him as "having Barca's DNA."

"When I was told that a Nice player was nicknamed the 'African Xavi', I followed him very closely," the legendary Spaniard began. "I watched matches and a ton of videos.

"I didn't know him... and I was spellbound: I'm not used to seeing such a talent in midfield. Short passing, long passing, tactical intelligence, distance shooting, personality, organizing play, that last magic pass... 'madre mia!'

"He would do very well at Barca, he can play anywhere in the middle," Xavi continued. "Seri is fantastic.

"I can say, without hesitation, that he has what we call 'Barca DNA'."

Glowing praise indeed!

However, both moves turned out to be monumental disasters, with neither player finding his feet in West London.

The entire side often looked shambolic and out of touch with each other, with several players appearing to be rabbits in headlights.

Their constant defensive mistakes typified their mediocre season, while they didn't fare better going forward either.

With the side looking extremely disjointed, critics constantly rehashed the Londoners' decision to splurge on so many players in the summer.

It wasn't criticism in hindsight either, owing to the fact that many people had misgivings about their transfer activity after gaining promotion.

The West London club made a glut of signings, thereafter sidelining several stars that had helped secure their playoff win over Aston Villa in May 2018.

Zambo Anguissa and Seri suffered their fair share of criticism too, mainly because of their hefty transfer fees. After a bad game against Huddersfield Town in November, the former was mocked by fans of his former club Marseille, who saw the funny side of supposedly fleecing Fulham.

Seri, on the other hand, was ridiculed for failing to justify the effusive praise he'd been showered with before moving to England.

It didn't help that Fulham panicked by sacking the guy who'd overseen their return to the big time in November.

Claudio Ranieri replaced the departed Jokanovic but results remained mixed.

Scott Parker was to come in for the jettisoned Italian in the closing weeks of the campaign before relegation was sealed after one season back in the top flight.

For the pair of Anguissa and Seri, the upheaval in the dugout summed up a miserable and muddled first year in England.

The changes were unsettling too, with players needing to learn new tactical schemes throughout the season.

The African duo had been signed by Jokanovic for a purpose - and while they may have struggled even when the Serbian was in charge, one suspects he had a plan in mind for the pair - but that was defeated with the change in strategy.

It remains to be seen if Parker will discard the high-earning pair this summer or take the risk of retaining them for the fight to secure instant promotion.

After one year in England, they'll be more acclimatized now and are likely to fare better in their second year at the club, albeit in the hurly-burly of the Championship.

There's also the fear that failing to cash in on them now could see their stock plummet even further if their promotion push doesn't turn out as expected.

The Championship is a different kettle of fish, and failure to adapt to a difficult division could leave Parker stuck with unwanted players on high wages while playing second-tier football.

Be that as it may, it's a risk they have to take, as it may be a bit too reactionary to pull the plug on their time in England after a sole season.

However, Seri doesn't seem intent on sticking around going by reports a few months back that he had no plan to play outside the Premier League.

Both players are predicted to play vital roles in their countries' Africa Cup of Nations campaigns which begin in Egypt on June 21.

Anguissa is expected to feature prominently in Clarence Seedorf's Cameroon team as they seek to retain a title they won in Gabon two years ago. Not part of the side that secured a fifth African crown, he'll be making his Afcon debut for the Indomitable Lions.

Seri is also likely to star in Ibrahim Kamara's Ivory Coast midfield as they aim to do better than 2017's group-stage exit.

After so much promise, last season represented disappointing years for the midfielders at Fulham.

Nevertheless, sparkling displays at the Nations Cup finals could prompt a revival in the pairs' fortunes as they attempt to find a bit of light and hope after enduring forgettable individual seasons in West London. 



https://www.goal.com/en-za/news/4622/africa/2019/06/14/54447822/what-does-the-future-hold-for-jean-seri-and-andre-frank

[WhiteJC]

These 3 players are surely likely to follow Anguissa out of Fulham this summer

Having experienced an awful 2018/19 campaign in the Premier League which resulted in relegation, Fulham are in need of a complete overhaul this summer before making their return to the Championship.

Whilst boss Scott Parker will be hoping to make some big additions to his squad between now and August, he may first have to deal with a flood of departures from Craven Cottage.

According to French news outlet Foot Mercato, Fulham are reportedly looking to offload André-Frank Zambo Anguissa just 10 months after breaking their transfer record to bring the midfielder to west London.

If this is indeed true, the 23-year-old could spark some of the club's other high-profile players to follow in his footsteps and call time on their Cottagers' careers.

Keeping this in mind, here are THREE individuals who we think are extremely likely to leave Fulham during the transfer window...

Aleksandar Mitrovic
One of the club's only shining lights last season, Aleksandar Mitrovic managed to fire in 11 goals in the Premier League and thus demonstrated why he belongs at that particular level.

With the likes of Southampton and Crystal Palace reportedly interested in signing the Serbian striker (via the Daily Express), it would not be at all surprising if he ends up back in the top-flight next season.

However, according to Sports Bild (as quoted by Bulinews), Mitrovic may end in the Bundesliga next season as Bayer Leverkusen are monitoring the 24-year-old as well.

Ryan Sessegnon
Having lit up the Championship with a plethora of incredible performances during the 2017/18 campaign, Ryan Sessegnon was widely expected to take his game to new heights in the Premier League.

Yet unfortunately this wasn't the case for the England under-21 international as his struggles for consistency resulted in him only being able to find the back of the net on two occasions in 35 appearances.

Although he looked out of his depth at times in the top-flight, when you consider that Sessegnon is still only 19, he clearly has the potential to learn from this experience and grow stronger as a player.

With his contract at Fulham set to expire in 2020, this summer could represent the last chance the club will have of receiving a big fee for the winger and with Spurs showing considerable interest according to the Guardian, Parker may decide to cut ties with him.

Fabricio
A forgotten man at Craven Cottage, Fabricio has not featured for Fulham since making back-to-back appearances last August and could be on his way out of the club despite having two years left on his existing deal.

According to Turkish outlet Takvim, the Spaniard is reportedly keen on moving back to Besiktas have left the Super Lig side to join the Cottagers in 2018.

If Fabricio does leave, it could be argued that Fulham will not be any worse off given his sheer lack of involvement over the past 10 months.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/these-3-players-are-surely-likely-to-follow-anguissa-out-of-fulham-this-summer/

[WhiteJC]

Why are Fulham so bad at corners?

Take your mind back to the Summer of 2018. Fulham had just been promoted, memes about Harry Maguire spread virally across the internet, and football was coming home again. Happy days

Like many others following England at the World Cup, I'd never seen the Three Lions get past the quarter final of a major tournament. I'd learned by now to temper my expectations, after seeing talented English sides crumble ever more embarrassingly every 2 years.

And yet, somehow, something very special happened in Russia. This very young English side, with a relatively inexperienced manager, were boldly going where the "Golden Generation" had never gone before.

What was different this time? Why was this side the closest to ending over 50 years of hurt? In my opinion, it's down to 2 words: Set pieces. (Yes yes, and a favourable draw, but humour me for now...)

Across England's World Cup Campaign, England scored 4 goals from corners, 3 goals from free kicks, and a couple of penalties. In fact, we scored more goals from corners than we did from open play. Whilst England were far from being in the top 4 footballing countries in the world, thanks to hard work from attacking coach Alan Russell, England found a niche not being exploited by other teams: being really good at corners. It almost proved enough to bring football home. Almost.

Now, this is hardly the first time where a team has exploited set pieces at the core of a successful campaign. Other examples include Chelsea's Premier League win under Antonio Conte, Atletico Madrid winning La Liga, and for you footballing hipsters – FC Midtjylland winning the Danish league. A real David vs Goliath story, as a relatively tiny side beat much larger opponents to win their first ever title.

So, surely, after all this high profile success with set pieces, more and more teams are getting better at set pieces? Well, no, not really – and I'm struggling to understand why.

Football is an incredibly expensive business, with fine improvements being very hard to come by. Last year, Fulham upgraded their main striker from Abou Kamara to Mitrovic, buying them around 8 extra goals over a season – equal to the amount a good 'set piece' team scores over a poor one. Whilst I agree buying a big scary Serbian is a much sexier option than analysing and optimising set pieces – £20million is a lot of money...

Alright, alright... So how good are Fulham at corners?
Well, if you've read the title, or watched a few games at Craven Cottage, it will come as no surprise to you learn that we're not. Looking at goals scored from corners this season, Fulham have the 5th lowest scoring rate:

To put the above numbers into context, if Fulham scored corners at the rate that Brighton had, we would have another 8 goals to our tally – adding approximately one extra Mitrovic to the squad. A terrifying thought.

I've always thought that the steep slope at the Cottage must hamper a taker's ability to get the ball into the box. However, the data suggests that Craven Cottage is about league average for seeing corner goals – so unfortunately there's no excuse we can call on there. Consequently, there are clear improvements that we can make – improvements which are within our control.

What does a "good" corner look like?
By taking a look at corners taken across England this season, and using something called 'kmeans clustering' (essentially finding common types of corners within a data set), we can investigate whether some corners are better than others.

In essence, corner placement is about balancing two things:

    The likelihood of a shot being generated from where it lands
    The chance of that shot ending in a goal

Therefore, the best corner sits in the sweet spot of being close enough to the goal to create a good chance, but isn't mopped up by the opposition keeper. Within my data set there are 9 categories of corners, and below I've ranked them in terms of 'goals per corner', to see which corner type tends to result in more goals.

Now this is a fair bit of data, so to summarise what it shows:

    Inswingers are generally good – especially when hit to the far post
    It makes more sense to land a corner infront of a post, rather than in the middle of the goal
    Short corners are good (so fans – please stop moaning when we take them!!)

Ok... So where are Fulham placing their corners?
By looking at corners taken by English teams, and breaking them down into their 'corner type' (and their relative goal per corner ratio), we can see whether Fulham are taking more 'good', or 'bad' corners compared to other teams.

The graph above shows a distribution of what percentage of corners each team takes – and what Fulham's distribution looks like. Essentially, if the red line is above a bar, Fulham hit more of these corner types than average. If below, we hit less than average.

The graph suggests that Fulham could improve their corner strategy by:

    Continuing to focus on short corners
    When putting in outswingers, aim for near post rather than the centre of the goal

Clearly, with corners, variety is important. If Fulham start hitting every corner as a far-post inswinger, the opposition will react accordingly. However, by simply using more logic and thought to the corners that we choose to take, we can improve our scoring rate. Fulham will take over 200 corners next year, so improving our efficiency even slightly could result in significantly more goals.

How good are Fulham at converting the corner chances?
So naturally, where you land a corner is only half the battle. You also need someone to put the ball in the back of the net. Are Fulham good at doing this?

Well, yes and no. Looking at the data, Fulham are actually pretty decent at getting on the end of corners, and getting shots on goal. In fact, Fulham have the 4th best 'shot per corner' rate in the league, with 28% – a healthy rate. The issue is that these shots are pretty poor quality ones, and they're not going in the back of the net:

By comparing a basic 'expected goals' vs 'actual goals' from corners, we can compare Fulham's finishing rate to other clubs.

It's quite clear – Fulham don't score as much from corners as they should. Whilst most teams seem to be scoring less than expected (likely a sign of the xG model being too basic), and there's an element of small sample size here, Fulham's scoring rate could be higher than it is.

One for the training ground, and perhaps another article for another day.

And one last thing...
There's another aspect to set pieces, which is the set piece routine. This how you line players up as the corner is taken, and the runs they make, to help produce 'free headers' for your players. If you're interested in what a good set piece looks like, this article gives a far better review than I ever could. It provides a great summary of how Chris Wilder (Sheffield United manager) has used innovative set piece training to help fashion great chances for his players.

I see no reason why Fulham couldn't take inspiration from this, and try some inventive set pieces out in both training situations and matches.

To summarise...
By using data to optimise where you place set pieces, and train your side with smart strategies to create high quality chances for your players, you really can add significant goals to a team. With a tough Championship campaign coming up, I'd love Fulham to take this kind of thinking on board, and start championing good set pieces. With the promotion race likely to be incredibly tight, the difference of 5-10 goals genuinely could make all the difference in what league we end up finishing in.

There's absolutely nothing stopping us from doing this – all it takes is some clever planning, and extra work on the training field. Can Scott facilitate this change? Time will tell...

Data provided by Wyscout – event data of Premier League, and Championship, 18/19 seasons.



https://www.fulhamish.co.uk/post/2019-06-14-why-are-fulham-so-bad-at-corners/

[WhiteJC]

La Liga side 'close' to signing Fulham player, €25m fee – We take a look...

A very interesting story has appeared overnight regarding an alleged Real Betis interest in Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Following their relegation to the Championship, it's no secret the Cottagers will need to get rid of some assets, and the Serbian forward happens to be one of their more valuable ones.

We saw a story in Mundo Deportivo on Friday morning, claiming Canal Sur, a local TV channel, had reported about the Mitrovic to Betis story.

Unable to find the show this was mentioned on, we did a bit more digging online, eventually stumbling on the first mention of an interest from the La Liga side in the Fulham goalscorer in the past week or so.

It came from a Twitter account @tarugobetico in a conversation, stating 'there is interest in Mitrovic, but it won't be easy'.

After this, there's a 12 hour gap, until fan site SomosBetis claim Mitrovic is 'close' to signing for the Spanish club, 'possibly' doing so 'in the next few hours'.

Three hours later, MuchoDeporte jump in, pretty much saying the exact same thing, adding the price would be around €25m.

That's when MundoDeportivo come in with their article (as did Marca) an hour later, relaying Canal Sur.

Our guess here is that, at point some after MuchoDeporte's article, the TV outlet reported on it because they also mention the €25m fee, as well as throwing in West Ham and Bayer Leverkusen as competition for Betis.

If you were to believe every single claim made here, it sounds like something is getting done rather quickly behind the scenes, but the fact it all stemmed from someone vaguely mentioning on a personal Twitter account (they aren't a journalist as far as we can tell) makes things complicated.

The fact neither SomosBetis nor MuchoDeporte made it clear the information was either their own or someone else's also makes us question where this has all come from, because if you did have your own source on the matter, you would probably say so.

As for the rest, it could easily be that someone at Canal Sur saw the claim from either of those websites and mentioned it briefly on a show, which then caused a snowball effect online.

It's easily done.

All we're saying is perhaps wait for one of the bigger outlets either in Spain or in England to report on it (with their own information) before getting excited.

Or, just get excited either way, we can't tell you what to do.



http://sportwitness.co.uk/la-liga-side-close-signing-fulham-player-e25m-fee-take-look/

[WhiteJC]

Opinion: Fulham Set To Suffer Courtesy Of The Latest Fad

Whatever happened to patience, learning your trade and waiting for an opportunity?

It seems that, in the modern game, those are traits that are fast disappearing when it comes to youth.

The youngsters of today want it all now, they don't appear to want to bide their time and wait for the natural evolution we all experience.

Today, the Mirror, is reporting that Fulham are set to lose one of their promising youngsters.

Our referenced source is reporting that Cody Drameh, just 17-years-of-age, is set to join the Bundesliga club, Eintracht Frankfurt.

Drameh obviously feels that the route the England international, Jaden Sancho, opted to take is the route for him s opposed to waiting for his chance at Craven Cottage.

Unfortunately, Fulham will get no transfer fee for the teenager only a compensation payment as the midfielder is under 18-years-of-age.

But, despite our misgivings about the situation, here at Vital Fulham, if he makes the move we wish him every success.



https://fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/opinion-fulham-set-to-suffer-courtesy-of-the-latest-fad/

[WhiteJC]

Fixtures Explained

With the Sky Bet Championship fixtures coming out next week, here is all you need to know ahead of the release.

When can I see our fixtures?

Each club will be sent their respective fixture list by the EFL on the morning of Thursday 20th June. These are embargoed until 9am, at which point we will publish them on fulhamfc.com and across our social digital platforms.

How are they decided?

The dates of matches are decided in January, and then the fixture list is compiled and finalised in the subsequent months. A method known as sequencing is used, which breaks the season down into five parts, or sets. These sets are then reversed for the second half of the season.

Are there any rules in determining fixtures?

In any five match period, there will be three home fixtures and two away, or vice versa. The EFL will also strive to ensure no side plays more than two home or away matches in a row, or starts/finishes the season with consecutive home or away fixtures. Also, if Fulham play away on Boxing Day, we will be at home on New Year's Day, or the equivalent date – or vice versa.

Will Brentford or QPR's fixtures affect us?

No. The clubs are not close enough to Craven Cottage for fixture clashing to be an issue – for example, QPR were playing at Loftus Road for the majority of our home fixtures in 2017/18.

Are there any changes to the schedule this season?

For the first time, the Premier League will have a mid-season break across matchday 26, but no such changes have been made to the EFL. Something that could affect Fulham is that the Fifth Round of the FA Cup will take place midweek this season, with Replays scrapped from that stage of the competition.



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2019/june/14/fixtures-explained

[WhiteJC]

From Portugal: Fulham set to make offer for winger, loan with option to buy

Championship side Fulham are expected to make an offer to sign Sporting winger Jovane, according to the Portuguese press.

Newspaper Record says the Craven Cottage side want the player to join them on a one-year loan deal, with a buying option of €10m included in the contract.

The outlet says this offer should be analysed by Sporting and the player, who despite being on vacation, is in 'constant contact' with his agent.

It's claimed Jovane would be fine to leave Sporting since he wants to get more minutes, and the club are likely to accept his wishes.

Record claims that it's not only English clubs who want his signing, but a move there would be easy because despite being born in Cape Verde, the player has a Portuguese passport.

Jovane had four goals and eight assists in 31 games for Sporting this season. He's protected by a €60m release clause.



http://sportwitness.co.uk/portugal-fulham-set-make-offer-winger-loan-option-buy/

[WhiteJC]

Fulham to kick-start summer recruitment by landing Sporting Lisbon winger

Fulham are eyeing a move for Sporting Lisbon winger Jovane Cabral.

The Cottagers are keen on loan deal with a view-to-buy for the 20-year-old, as per a report by Sport Witness.

Fulham are preparing for life back in the Championship next season following their relegation from the Premier League. Their boss, Scott Parker, is in the hunt for some new signings this summer as he looks to put his own stamp on the Craven Cottage club.

Cabral, who is a Cape Verde international, would offer the Whites another option out wide and more depth in the attacking department.

The youngster started his career in his native country with Grémio Nhagar before joining Sporting four years ago. He initially broke into their B team and made 34 appearances for them.

Cabral then became part of Sporting's first-team fold and was handed a handful of appearances in the last campaign.

A loan move to Fulham could be appealing to both Cabral and Sporting as it would give him a chance to get some regular first-team football under his belt. However, there could be reservations over the option to buy as Sporting may see him as one for the future there.

Fulham have the core of a strong squad and will no doubt be competing at the top end of the Championship next season. Their fans will be hopeful that Parker can bring in some players this summer and Cabral would be an exciting signing for the London outfit.



https://the72.co.uk/134800/fulham-to-kick-start-summer-recruitment-by-landing-sporting-lisbon-winger/

[WhiteJC]

 Fulham ace Aleksandar Mitrovic makes transfer decision amid West Ham interest

FULHAM striker Aleksandar Mitrovic is on the verge of a move to Real Betis, who look set to beat West Ham to his signature.

Mitrovic is on Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini's wish list if the club fail to land top target Maxi Gomez from Celta Vigo.

But Betis have stolen a march on them, with vice president Jose Miguel Lopez Catalan in London for talks with the Cottagers.

Fulham want £30m for Mitrovic, who has four years left on his contract and scored 11 Premier League goals last season.

But while the Spanish side are trying to do a deal for closer to £22m, the two sides are understood to be close to a compromise.

Bayer Leverkusen and Fenerbahce are also interested in Mitrovic but Betis wanted him in January and have now jumped to the front of the queue.

Mitrovic, 24, is set to leave Craven Cottage because Fulham need to raise funds for new signings after their relegation.

Boss Scott Parker is monitoring Newcastle striker Dwight Gayle and Middlesbrough's Britt Assombalonga.

Mitrovic joined Fulham from Newcastle initially on loan in February 2018 and was a revelation in the Championship.

The Serbia striker helped the club win promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, scoring 12 goals along the way.

That clinched him a permanent summer switch in a deal which cost Fulham £22m up front rising potentially to £27m with add-ons.

With Mitrovic now on a big-money contract, the Cottagers do not want to part with him for less than they paid.

Talks are set to continue with Betis but West Ham are not currently preparing a bid as their attention is focused elsewhere.

Mitrovic has 25 goals in 48 appearances for Serbia and scored twice in their 4-1 win over Lithuania on Monday night.



https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/785568/Fulham-transfer-news-Aleksandar-Mitrovic-West-Ham

[WhiteJC]

87.4% pass success rate: Fulham open to offloading international this summer

Fulham are open to selling midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa in the summer transfer window, according to Foot Mercato.

The 23-year-old joined the Cottagers last summer after establishing his reputation as a combative defensive midfielder at Marseille during the previous season, but he has failed to reach the same heights in West London.

He was signed for a £30million fee during the club's spending spree following Championship promotion, but like many of his fellow arrivals, he under-performed as the club were relegated.

It remains to be seen where Anguissa could move this summer, but it is likely Fulham will struggle to re-coup the full sum they paid Marseille for his services in August.

So, would Anguissa be a big loss for Fulham as they prepare for life in the Championship?

We take a closer look...



The Cameroon international managed 22 appearances under three different managers last season, as he failed to establish himself in the side until the club's final run-in. But it should be remembered his season was hampered by an ankle injury during the winter period, and his qualities did eventually start to shine through under Scott Parker's stewardship at the end of a difficult campaign.

Anguissa arrived in London with a reputation for his ability to break up play by winning the ball for his side in midfield. His stats suggest he certainly showed glimpses of his capabilities at Fulham, as he recorded an average of 2.2 tackles per game and 1.5 interceptions per game. The fact he also recorded an average of 1.9 dribbles per match indicates he can drive his side forward from deep on occasions. These statistics reveal what Anguissa is capable of, but there is an argument that he should have been showing more for Fulham given the level of prestige he achieved in Ligue 1, and the fee paid for him.

The midfielder stands at six foot tall, so his aerial ability is not where he thrives the most, but he did still win an average of one aerial duel per match. But it is his passing ability which appears to show where his real strengths lie, as he completed an average of 47.4 passes per game with an impressive 87.4% pass success rate.

This reflects how Anguissa showed some promise during his season at Fulham, but it should be noted his performances in the latter half of the campaign improving these stats vastly. However, Fulham should not really have any issue with letting him go. He is unlikely to be keen on the prospect of playing second-tier football next season and it would also free up space on the club's wage bill. Anguissa has ultimately failed to live up to expectations at the club, and the Cottagers would now be better off recruiting a Championship-standard player to replace him.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/87-4-pass-success-rate-fulham-open-to-offloading-international-this-summer/

[WhiteJC]

Young Lions In Italy

Ryan Sessegnon is in Italy at the moment looking to add to his trophy collection as England compete in the Under-21 European Championship.

England's No.11

Having been a key player for Aidy Boothroyd's side in qualifying, Sessegnon's inclusion for the tournament was always likely, and he was duly named in the 23-man squad at the end of May. When squad numbers were allocated a couple of weeks later, Sessegnon was given the number 11 shirt. He currently has eight U21 caps to his name, and will be looking to replicate the success he had with the U19s two years ago when he came home with the trophy, golden boot, and a place in the team of the tournament. He was the youngest player in Georgia with the U19s, and only two players this summer will be his junior; teammate Phil Foden (by 10 days), and Belgium's Yari Verschaeren.

Fixtures

England have been drawn in Group C where they will face France on Tuesday 18th June, Romania on Friday 21st June, and Croatia on Monday 24th June. There are three groups and so the winners of each, along with the best runner-up, with progress to the Semi-Finals. The Final will take place on Sunday 30th June in Udine.

Odds

With a strong squad full of attacking flair, England are favourites with Dafabet to win the tournament, priced at 4/1, but there isn't much in it. Spain and Italy both have plenty of talent in their ranks as well and aren't far off England with the bookies, while holders Germany are available at 5/1. Serbia could be a decent outside bet at 18/1 with €60m man Luka Jović leading the line.

England 4/1

Spain 17/4

Italy 9/2

Germany 5/1

France 5/1

Denmark 9/1

Belgium 16/1

Serbia 18/1

Croatia 25/1

Austria 50/1

Poland 50/1

Romania 66/1

Players to watch

All eyes will be on the aforementioned Jović following his big money move to Real Madrid. The forward had been playing off Aleksandar Mitrović in the senior side, but is still eligible for the Under-21s. He's joined by another fully fledged international in Andrija Živković, an exciting winger on Benfica's books. There's a familiar face in the France squad with former Fulham striker Moussa Dembélé leading the line on the back of a terrific season at Lyon for whom he scored 17 times in his debut campaign. Dani Ceballos featured 34 times for Real Madrid this season, and he'll be pulling the strings in the Spain midfield behind Mikel Oyarzabal who already has 38 Real Sociedad goals to his name. Lorenzo Pellegrini is a regular in the Roma midfield and he'll be key for the Azzurri as they look to win the trophy for a sixth time, with Moise Kean hoping to provide the goals following his breakthrough season for Juventus.

England squad

1. Dean Henderson (Manchester United)

2. Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace)

3. Jay Dasilva (Chelsea)

4. Jake Clarke-Salter (Chelsea)

5. Fikayo Tomori (Chelsea)

6. Kieran Dowell (Everton)

7. Demarai Gray (Leicester City)

8. James Maddison (Leicester City)

9. Dominic Solanke (AFC Bournemouth)

10. Phil Foden (Manchester City)

11. Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham)

12. Jonjoe Kenny (Everton)

13. Angus Gunn (Southampton)

14. Lloyd Kelly (AFC Bournemouth)

15. Ezri Konsa (Brentford)

16. Hamza Choudhury (Leicester City)

17. Harvey Barnes (Leicester City)

18. Mason Mount (Chelsea)

19. Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton)

20. Morgan Gibbs-White (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

21. Reiss Nelson (Arsenal)

22. Freddie Woodman (Newcastle United)

23. Tammy Abraham (Chelsea)




http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2019/june/15/under-21-european-championship-preview-ryan-sessegnon