Saturday Fulham Stuff - 13/07/19...

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Anthony Knockaert wanted by Fulham

Anthony Knockaert is a target for Championship club Fulham.

The relegated Londoners have made contact with the Seagulls over the French winger, an insider has confirmed to The Argus.

It follows a report in The Sun, claiming a £15 million fee has been discussed.

No bid has been made yet by Fulham for Knockaert, who still has three years left on his contract.

Knockaert signed a long term deal after helping fire Albion to promotion to the Premier League in 2016-17.

He scored 15 goals and was named the Championship player of the year.

Knockaert's fortunes have been mixed in two seasons with Albion in the Premier League.

He has scored five goals in 45 starts and 18 substitute appearances, the latest a spectacular winner at arch rivals Crystal Palace in March.

That was followed a month later by a red card for a horror tackle in the home drubbing by Bournemouth as the threat of relegation mounted under ex-manager Chris Hughton.

Knockaert was also sent-off at Everton the previous season.

Hughton's replacement Graham Potter has five wingers to choose from following the signing of Leandro Trossard from Genk, although Colombian Jose Izquierdo is a long-term absentee after a second knee cartilage operation.

Fulham are keen to make an immediate return to the Premier League under Scott Parker after finishing two places and ten points below Albion in 19th last season.

They have demonstrated their intent by retaining the services of Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, an Albion target during Hughton's reign.

Knockaert is expected to make his first appearance for Potter in the Seagulls' opening friendly in Austria against FC Liefering tomorrow afternoon.



https://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/17767696.anthony-knockaert-wanted-fulham/

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Fulham and Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan still open to buying Wembley Stadium if FA willing to sell
Despite a failed bid to buy Wembley Stadium last year, Khan has not given up his interest entirely

Shahid Khan at Wembley Stadium for Fulham's 2018 Championship play-off final (Getty Images)

Fulham and Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan's door is still open to the FA if they want to sell Wembley Stadium to him.

Hussain Naqi, the NFL team's London-based senior vice president of international development, also said the Jaguars are looking at extending their deal at the national stadium beyond the present contract, which runs until the 2020 season.

Khan first attempted to buy Wembley last October, but withdrew his £600m offer not long afterwards with FA chief executive Martin Glenn calling the plan "more divisive than expected".
Nevertheless, the possibility remains that Khan could re-emerge as a candidate to buy the stadium.

"We're interested if the FA is interested in engaging, but there's nothing new to report," Naqi said.

He also reaffirmed the team's commitment to Wembley, where they will host the Houston Texans on 3 November. It will be their seventh successive season of playing a home game there.

"We love playing at Wembley," Naqi said. "From a pitch and facilities perspective, we're very comfortable.

"Negotiations are ongoing and they're going well. I wouldn't anticipate us taking a step back from the market."

Naqi was speaking at the Jaguars' playing academy at Brunel University in west London. The academy gives British and European players the chance to experience a typical NFL training camp, as well being coached by several ex-Jags' players. It is just one grassroots scheme the team has in place, which also includes the JagTag non-contact schools programme, which started three and a half years ago and now reaches thousands of children in over 90 schools across the UK.

"One of the things we've seen is an explosion in participation," Naqi said. "There are now 55,000 kids playing American football here on a weekly basis throughout London and the UK." And all this is paying off in terms of the team's popularity in Britain.

No relocation in the works

"When we started this we were 30th, 31st in terms of popularity and now we're fourth," Naqi said. "If you look at ticket sales, our game against the Philadelphia Eagles last year [at Wembley] was the most in-demand ticket across the NFL irrespective of geography."

In terms of whether the Jaguars have a more permanent future in London, Naqi said the Jags were happy with their current set-up.

"Relocation is a question that's decided at the ownership level – it's not even a Jags decision, it's done at the league level," he said. "Our commitment is to playing the one game that we're playing right now, and we're really excited to be doing that, and we're excited to be committed to the market and doing things like this."



https://inews.co.uk/sport/other/shahid-khan-wembley-stadium-jacksonville-jaguars-fulham-fa-nfl/

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Fulham make Knockaert approach

Fulham have made an approach for Brighton and Hove Albion winger Anthony Knockaert, according to reports on the south coast.

The Londoners have yet to make a firm offer for the 27 year-old, although other reports have put the price of a potential deal at around £15m. It is certain that Fulham would have pay a substantial fee to secure Knockaert's signature – given that the winger still has three years to run on his current Brighton contract. Fulham see the former Leicester wide man as a proven performer in the Championship, who helped both the Foxes and Albion win promotion from the second tier, and believe they could tempt him to move to the capital by putting together an attractive contractual package.

Knockaert, who has struggled to replicate his outstanding Championship displays in the Premier League for the Seagulls, could be squeezed out of Brighton's first-team picture under new boss Graham Potter as Albion now have five first-team wingers on their books. He has scored five goals in 63 appearances over the past two seasons in the top flight and was sent off for a shocking tackle in a home thumping by Bournemouth as Brighton's relegation fears grew under Chris Hughton.

Knockaert, who famously missed a penalty in Leicester's play-off semi final defeat at Watford in 2013, scored five goals in 42 appearances as the Foxes won promotion the following season. He scored fifteen goals as Brighton went up in 2016/2017 and was voted the Championship player of the season.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2019/07/fulham-make-knockaert-approach/

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'What a signing this could be' – Fulham plot swoop for £15m-rated attacker: The Verdict

Fulham are hoping to sign Brighton winger Anthony Knockaert for £15million this summer, according to The Sun.

The 27-year-old has struggled to make an impact in the Premier League, but scored 15 goals when Brighton won automatic promotion from the Championship in 2016/17.

The Sun claim that Fulham have made contact with Brighton and while no formal offer has been made, a £15million fee has been discussed.

It is thought that Knockaert is open to dropping down to the Championship, due to the fact that Fulham would be able to offer him a significant increase to his £40,000-a-week wages.

So, would Knockaert be a good signing for Fulham for £15million? We discuss...

Kealan Hughes

"This would be a brilliant signing by Fulham and a statement that they mean business this season.

"Knockaert was the best player in the division when he won promotion with Brighton in 2017, and without him the Seagulls would have lacked the goals and creativity to finish in the automatic places.

"That means Fulham will probably possess the biggest attacking threat of any side if Knockaert joins. The Frenchman is capable of moments of magic and will be a real gem for Fulham.

"£15m is a considerable fee for a player who has struggled at times in the Premier League, but with promotion worth so much it can be viewed as a necessary step in order for the club to get where it wants."

Toby Wilding

"What a signing this could be for Fulham.

"Knockaert has already shown during his time at Brighton that he is more than capable of helping teams out of this division and seems to be just what Fulham need as they look for a quick response to last season's dismal relegation.

"With Aleksandar Mitrovic having signed a new contract and a loan move for Wolves' Ivan Cavaleiro apparently close to completion, adding Knockaert would surely complete a three-pronged attack that would cause problems for any defence in the division.

"This would be a big statement from Fulham and it is interesting to note the starting fee discussed sits at £15million, which appears to suggest that the club have not been put off spending big by the disastrous campaign that followed their big-spending summer of 12 months ago."

George Brooks

"This would be a fantastic signing for Fulham.

"Even though Knockaert hasn't quite lived up to expectations in the Premier League, he's still a terrific player and was phenomenal the last time he was in the Championship.

"With Ryan Babel and Andre Schurrle having left Craven Cottage this summer and Ryan Sessegnon expected to follow, Scott Parker will be keen to strengthen out wide and Knockaert would be an ideal replacement.

"He's an exciting player and will be able to both score and create goals from out wide.

"On top of that, he's already got plenty of experience in the Championship and should be able to make an instant impact for Fulham next season.

"I think that £15million for a player of Knockaert's quality is pretty reasonable in today's market and Fulham should be able to afford him, given that they spent big last summer."



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/what-a-signing-this-could-be-fulham-plot-swoop-for-15m-rated-attacker-the-verdict/

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Tribunal to decide compensation for Liverpool signing after clubs fail to agree on fee

Latest Liverpool transfer news: Tribunal to decide Fulham's compensation for Harvey Elliott

Sky Sports claims that Fulham's compensation for Harvey Elliott will be decided by a tribunal after Liverpool and the Cottagers failed to agree on a fee for the youngster.

The 16-year-old Fulham midfielder is out of a contract at the Cottagers and rejected a new deal at the Championship club (h/t Sky Sports).

The report adds that Elliott is set to join the Reds on youth terms, and was linked with Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Barcelona.

Elliott also holds the record for being the youngest player to feature in the Premier League when he faced Wolves in May.

Fulham could not keep their status in the Premier League and were relegated back to the Championship last season.

The report adds that Elliott should feature for the first-team at Anfield, but FA rules claim that players under 17 cannot sign professional deals.

Liverpool also had seen a tribunal decide the fee of Danny Ings' transfer from Burnley to Liverpool. The England striker is now at Southampton after initially joining them on loan.

Liverpool targetting young players this summer

The Reds have a fantastic first-team and moving for young players would be great for the future.

Elliot is one of the brightest talents in England, and we have already signed Sepp van den Berg from PEC Zwolle.

The 17-year-old centre-back was part of first-team training recently and will be interesting to see how he develops in the coming months.



http://thekoptimes.com/2019/07/13/tribunal-to-decide-compensation-for-liverpool-signing-after-clubs-fail-to-agree-on-fee/

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Fulham fall to Burnley defeat

A Chris Wood penalty condemned Fulham to their second pre-season defeat as the Whites were beaten by Burnley on the Algarve this evening.

The New Zealand striker notched the winning goal twenty minutes from time – beating Fabri from twelve yards – after a rash Cyrus Christie challenge on Ben Mee inside the box. Wood had the chance to put a more convincing gloss on the scoreline with time running out but he rattled the crossbar with a firm header from a corner.

A strong Burnley side that included former Fulham academy graduate Johann Berg Gudmundsson had the better of the early exchanges. Jay Rodriguez thought he had started his second stint with Sean Dyche's side in the finest possible manner but his powerful header from Robbie Brady's free-kick was ruled out for offside. Fulham operated mostly on the counter attack, but Mee had to be alert to deny rampaging left back Joe Bryan after the Whites' most fluent passage of play.

American midfielder Luca da le Torre had Fulham's other clear opening of note but Nick Pope made a smart save. Scott Parker opted to mark only three substitutes at half-time, saving most of his alterations for just after the hour mark as he sought to build up Fulham's fitness levels, whilst Dyche made ten half-time changes.

Fulham fashioned the first opportunity of the second period with former England goalkeeper Joe Hart reacting quickly to keep out a low drive from Neeskens Kebano. The winger then whipped in a teasing cross for Fonte, who could only head harmlessly over the bar. In a tight contest, the Clarets gradually began to pose more of a threat with a blistering Jack Cork wide flying wide courtesy of a deflection.

Parker's side finish their pre-season tour of Portugal with a tough test against Porto on Tuesday night.

BURNLEY (4-5-1): Pope (Hart 45); Bardsley (Lowton 45) Pieters (Dunne 45), Mee (Tarkowski 45), Long (Gibson 45); Westwood (Cork 45), Benson (Vydra 65), Hendrick (McNeill 45), Gudmundsson (Barnes 45), Brady (Lennon 45); Rodriguez (Wood 45).

GOAL: Wood (pen 70).

FULHAM (4-3-3): Bettinelli (Fabri 63), S. Sessegnon (Christie 63), Bryan (Mundle-Smith 66) Mawson (Odoi 63), Le Marchand (Opoku 63); McDonald (O'Riley 45), de la Torre (Johansen 45), Cairney (Edun 63); Kebano (Francois 63), Kamara (Ayité 45), Fonte (Mitrovic 63).



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2019/07/fulham-fall-to-burnley-defeat/

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Fulham eyeing Besic

Muhamed Besic has emerged as a target of recently-relegated Fulham and are lining up an offer according to a report.

Th report comes from Teamtalk, an outlet not known for breaking reliable stories these days but say that they want to sign Besic for £5m this summer.

The Bosnia-Herzegovina international joined Everton in 2014 but fell out of favour following the departure of Roberto Martinez and a series of injuries.

He spent last season on loan at Middlesbrough and could return to the Championship in a permanent move if this report holds any water.



https://www.toffeeweb.com/season/19-20/rumour-mill/38276.html