Sunday Fulham Stuff - 30/06/19...

[WhiteJC]

CL club see Fulham midfielder as back-up plan if they fail to sign Argentine international

Takvim today claims Galatasaray are closing in on Sevilla's Ever Banega but the Turkish side are still interested in Jean Michael Seri as a backup plan.

Fulham's Ivorian midfielder is expected to leave Craven Cottage this summer following the club's relegation to the Championship, and Galatasaray is thought to be tracking the 27 year old. The Super Lig club want to add to their squad ahead of Champions League football next season.

According to Takvim, Galatasaray are close to sealing a deal for Banega and are now discussing personal terms with the Argentine international. However, if they failed to convince the player on a move to Istanbul then they will turn to Seri.

These Banega claims are being strongly pushed in Spain.

Earlier in this transfer window we covered claims from France and Turkey that Galatasaray are looking to land Seri on a loan deal, but Fulham understandably want a permanent transfer for the midfielder.

Seri is under contract at Fulham until June 2022.



http://sportwitness.co.uk/cl-club-see-fulham-midfielder-back-plan-fail-sign-argentine-international/

[WhiteJC]

Fulham dealt irritating blow as Premier League club agree fee to sign 23-y/o

Aston Villa have reached an agreement with Southampton to sign defender, Matt Targett for a fee believed to be in the region of £14m according to Sky Sports.

Dean Smith will be looking to add some strength in depth to his side as they look to adjust to life back in the Premier League after they won promotion via the play-offs earlier this year.

This update will come as frustrating news to Fulham, who were previously interested in signing Targett earlier this month according to a report from West London Sport.

The 23-year-old spent a season on loan with the Lilywhites from 2017-2018, making 18 appearances under Slavisa Jokanovic as they won promotion into the Premier League.

This seems to have tilted the race to land his signature into Aston Villa's favour, with the Villans being able to offer him a better quality of football in the new season.

A move in the summer would put an end to a lengthy spell with Southampton, where he struggled to find consistent minutes in the top-flight, which will have come as a frustration to the left-back.

He made 63 appearances for the Saints in total, including 21 in last year's campaign as they eventually finished 16th in the Premier League after a poor run of results.

The Verdict:

This is a frustrating update for Fulham, who will have been keen to land his signature.

I feel that if Fulham had been in the Premier League, then they could have been able to tempt Targett to sign for them, but now they're in the Championship, they were fighting a losing battle.

He's too good for that level, and I think he'll be a really good signing for Aston Villa, who can offer him regular game time in the top-flight.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/fulham-dealt-irritating-blow-as-premier-league-club-agree-fee-to-sign-23-y-o/

[WhiteJC]

Fulham plotting £8m move for Austin

Fulham are planning an audacious £8m move for Charlie Austin – but will have to outmanoeuvre at least two Premier League clubs to land the Southampton striker.

The Sun claims that Austin has been told he is free to leave St. Mary's by Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, who doesn't see the former QPR forward as fitting in his style of play, as long as suitors match the south coast club's asking price. The tabloid reports that newly promoted Aston Villa and Crystal Palace are keen to offer the 29 year-old an opportunity to remain in the Premier League.

Austin, who has scored 20 goals in 76 appearances during three and half years with the Saints, turned down potential loan moves to the Championship in January, preferring to try and regain a starting spot under Hasenhuttl. Fulham will be hoping that he is open to dropping down a division to reignite his career, but they will face stiff competition from West Brom for his signature. Southampton hope to spark a bidding war for the striker's services as they seek to fund a summer spending spree of their own.

Fulham are known to be considering strengthening their striking options as Scott Parker prepares for his first full season in charge at Craven Cottage. The club are keen to hold onto Aleksandar Mitrovic despite their relegation from the Premier League and are mulling over the prospect of reintroducing Aboubakar Kamara, who spent the second half of last season on loan in Turkey after well publicised disciplinary problems, to the first-team squad. Austin, who won promotion via the play-offs with QPR in 2014, would be an ambitious acquisition, especially as his preference would probably be to remain in the top division.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2019/06/fulham-plotting-8m-move-for-austin/

[WhiteJC]

Fixtures In Focus: Part Seven

In our final preview piece, we look at what we can expect this season from Swansea, West Brom and Wigan.

Swansea City

Swansea were the middle club of the three relegated sides, in that they never endured a horrific patch of form, but they didn't set the world alight either. Graham Potter won plenty of plaudits while in Wales, and was promptly pinched by Brighton & Hove Albion going into the new season. The Jacks responded by appointing another young British manager in Steve Cooper, the man who led an England Under-17s side featuring Steven Sessegnon to World Cup glory two years ago.

Last season: 10th

Top scorer: Oli McBurnie (24)

Dafabet promotion odds: 8/1

2019/20 fixtures: Liberty Stadium 30/11/19, Craven Cottage 25/02/20

Last five meetings:

Swansea (Shelvey, Chico) 2-0 Fulham – 28/01/14

Fulham (Parker) 1-2 Swansea (Hughes og, Shelvey) – 23/11/13

Swansea 0-3 Fulham (Kačaniklić, Berbatov, Emanuelson) – 19/05/13

Fulham (Ruiz) 1-2 (Graham, De Guzman) – 29/12/12

Fulham 0-3 Swansea (Sigurdsson 2, Allen) – 17/03/12

West Bromwich Albion

A decent first season back in the Championship saw West Brom reach the Play-Offs, but a sending off in each leg severely hampered their chances, and they ended up losing to Aston Villa on penalties in the Semi-Final. They will have similarly lofty ambitions this year with former Croatia and West Ham boss Slaven Bilic in charge.

Last season: 4th

Top scorer: Dwight Gayle (24)

Dafabet promotion odds: 10/3

2019/20 fixtures: Craven Cottage 14/09/19, Hawthorns 18/04/20

Last five meetings:

West Brom (Vydra) 1-1 Fulham (Dejagah) – 22/02/14

Fulham (Sidwell) 1-1 West Brom (McAuley) – 14/09/13

West Brom (Lukaku) 1-2 Fulham (Berbatov, Kačaniklić) – 01/01/13

Fulham (Berbatov 2, Sidwell) 3-0 West Brom – 15/09/12

Fulham (Dempsey) 1-1 West Brom (Tchoyi) – 01/02/12

Wigan Athletic

Wigan demonstrated some fairly inconsistent form throughout 2018/19 and were still flirting with relegation in mid-March, but a solid end to the campaign in which they lost just once in their final nine matches meant they ended a comfortable 12 points clear of the dropzone.

Last season: 18th

Top scorer: Joe Garner/Nick Powell (8)

Dafabet promotion odds: 16/1

2019/20 fixtures: Craven Cottage 28/09/19, DW Stadium 02/05/20

Last five meetings:

Fulham (Ayité, Odoi, Kebano) 3-2 Wigan (Malone og, Jacobs) – 11/02/17

Wigan 0-0 Fulham – 17/09/16

Fulham (McCormack, Smith) 2-2 Wigan (Pennant, Pearce) – 10/04/15

Wigan (Forshaw, Espinoza, Maloney) 3-3 Fulham (Christensen, Ruiz 2) – 01/11/14

Fulham (Karagounis) 1-1 Wigan (Di Santo) – 12/01/13



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2019/june/30/fixtures-in-focus-part-seven

[WhiteJC]

Fulham and West Brom to battle Aston Villa in race for £8m Premier League striker

Championship promotion hopefuls Fulham and West Brom could be set to go head to head to sign Southampton striker Charlie Austin this summer.

According to the Sun, the Austin will be allowed to leave St Mary's for a fee in the region of £8m, but with Aston Villa and Crystal Palace both reportedly interested in the former QPR man, the Championship duo could face a massive battle to sign Austin.

Austin has been a regular goalscorer over the years in the Championship and Premier League, but has seen injuries curtail his progress in the last few seasons.

Those injuries and lack of form appear to have cost him his place at Southampton too, and he is now looking like he is going to spark quite the transfer scramble as teams look to add goalscorers to their squads over the summer.

Fulham are desperate to land a proven goalscorer with Aleksandar Mitrovic on his way out of the club, while West Brom will be keen to replace Dwight Gayle, who has returned to Newcastle United following his successful loan spell with the Baggies last term.

Austin has only scored 16 goals for the Saints but fired in some 45 goals for former club QPR, and it is this sort of form which will attract him to a number of clubs this summer.

The Verdict

You get the impression this one might just rumble on through the summer don't you?

Austin is bound to attract attention if he is being allowed to leave, and you could make a case for all those clubs mentioned to have a need to sign him.

He'd a massive coup for the likes of Fulham and West Brom though, and if they can beat Premier League teams to his signature, it might just lay down a marker to the rest of the league in terms of summer transfers.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/fulham-and-west-brom-to-battle-aston-villa-in-race-for-8m-premier-league-striker/