Thursday Fulham Stuff - 30/01/20...

[WhiteJC]

Aston Villa prepare offloading Jota on loan to Fulham to free up salary as they seek striker before the deadline

    Jota only joined Aston Villa in the summer from rivals Birmingham City
    But the 28-year-old has struggled to establish himself at Villa Park this term
    Jota is a former Fulham target and is admired by manager Scott Parker

Aston Villa midfielder Jota is in talks over a move to Fulham.

The 28-year old Spaniard only joined Villa in the summer from Birmingham City but has struggled to make an impression in the top flight making just 12 appearances and scoring once against Brighton in the Carabao Cup.


Jota has struggled to establish himself at Aston Villa since joining the club in the summer

Fulham manager Scott Parker is a fan of the former Brentford man who has been a transfer target for the club in the past.

His departure would also free up salary for Villa as they look to add another forward to bolster their bid for Premier League survival.



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7942945/Aston-Villa-prepare-offloading-Jota-loan-Fulham.html

[WhiteJC]

Games for the Weekend 01/02
Back to the Cottage this weekend when we welcome Huddersfield Town.

So now that our FA Cup adventure came to a shuddering halt last weekend we're back to concentrating on the league.
apparently there's an outside chance that either of Mitro' and AK47 could be back in contention for this game, fingers crossed.

Tuesday evening Huddersfield had a 1-2 away injury time win against Hull and a creditable 0-0 home draw against our neighbours Brentford, so they're in a reasonable run of form.

The good news for us is that we have a good history against Huddersfield with having lost only once against six wins and 2 draws.

COYWs

Games of Interest...
Friday 31st
Cardiff v Reading
Derby v Stoke

Saturday 1st
Hull v Brentford
Birmingham City v Nottm Forest
Charlton v Barnsley
Fulham v Huddersfield
Leeds v Wigan
Preston NE v Swansea
QPR v Bristol City
Sheff Wed v Millwall
West Brom v Luton

come on over to the forum and join in the discussion...
https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=1.0



https://www.friendsoffulham.com/wordpress/?p=1068

[WhiteJC]

FST AGM 2020 – Save the Date

We are pleased to confirm that the Fulham Supporters' Trust Annual General Meeting will take place on the evening of Tuesday 7th April 2020 in the Fulham / Hammersmith area.

We are in the process of finalising arrangements and will provide full details to all members shortly. In the meatime please save this slot in your diaries and we look forward to seeing you in April.

Please note that the AGM will be for members only.



https://www.fulhamsupporterstrust.com/news/2020/01/fst-agm-2020-save-the-date/

[WhiteJC]

Fulham handed significant injury boost as attacker makes comeback



Fulham frontman Aboubakar Kamara has returned to first-team training after missing the club's last five matches with injury, the club has confirmed.

Kamara has established himself in Scott Parker's plans since November following a difficult start to the season, but the forward has now not featured since the Cottagers' 2-1 defeat to Reading on New Years' Day due to his latest injury setback.

This is one of a number of injury problems that Parker has needed to handle in recent weeks with Aleksandar Mitrovic and Anthony Knockaert having also been absent, but it now appears Kamara is edging closer to a first-team return.

The 24-year-old was filmed returned to the grass at the club's training ground ahead of their clash against Huddersfield on the weekend, with the attacker set to give Parker another attacking option in addition to Bobby Reid who has recently led the line.

Fulham will be looking to return to winning ways against the Terriers following their goalless draw with Charlton last time out, but the West London outfit are still well placed in the Championship table as they currently sit in fourth spot.

This will come as encouraging news for Fulham fans given Parker's relative shortage of attacking firepower in recent matches, with Kamara looking set to provide another much-welcomed option in attack ahead of this weekend's encounter.

Kamara may not have been able to establish himself in the Fulham side this term, but this can largely be owed to the impressive form of Mitrovic, while Kamara's brace against QPR earlier in the season served as proof that he can cause damage at this level.

It now looks like Kamara will play a role when Fulham host Huddersfield this weekend, and it is important that Kamara now stays fit for the foreseeable future as Parker will need plenty of firepower in his side in order to maintain a promotion push.

Mitrovic's recent injury goes to show that Fulham need plenty of back-up attacking options in their side for the rest of the campaign, and there can be no doubt that Kamara will be key to this going forward.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/fulham-handed-significant-injury-boost-as-attacker-makes-comeback/

[WhiteJC]

'Superb news', 'Will need him Saturday' – Loads of Fulham fans react to key development in attacker's injury recovery

Fulham striker Aboubakar Kamara has returned to first-team training after overcoming an injury which has kept him out of the last five matches, the club has confirmed.

Kamara has become a more prominent part of Scott Parker's plans in recent weeks after struggling for playing time in the early part of the season, but he has been absent since the Cottagers' clash with Reading on New Years' Day.

However, it now appears the 24-year-old is edging closer to a first-team return after taking part in training on Wednesday, with the striker looking like a possibility to feature against Huddersfield at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

Fulham have taken to Twitter to share a video clip of the Frenchman making his return to the training pitch following his lay-off, with Kamara now having his sights set on his competitive comeback where he will look to add to his three-goal tally.

Plenty of Fulham supporters responded to the update by expressing their relief at Kamara's return, with some of them claiming the Cottagers will need him on Saturday with top goalscorer Aleksandar Mitrovic remaining absent following his injury earlier this month.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/superb-news-will-need-him-saturday-loads-of-fulham-fans-react-to-key-development-in-attackers-injury-recovery/

[WhiteJC]

Fulham enter talks over deal for Aston Villa playmaker Jota

According to the Daily Mail, Fulham are in talks with Premier League side Aston Villa over a potential deal for Spanish playmaker Jota, who only made the move to Villa Park in the summer transfer window.

Fulham boss Scott Parker could yet look to make some late transfer deals with the window closing on Friday, and one man that is reported to be on his radar is Aston Villa playmaker Jota. The Spaniard is down the pecking order at Villa Park and it is said that he could make a move away from the club just a matter of months after joining.

Jota signed for Aston Villa from rivals Birmingham City in the summer transfer window but could be allowed to make a move away from the Villans before the end of the month to free up some space on the Premier League side's wage bill.

Now, the Daily Mail has said that Fulham and Aston Villa are currently holding talks over a potential move to Craven Cottage for the 28-year-old. Fulham boss Parker is a big fan of Jota and would like to bring him in to bolster his squad as they look to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Since first making the move to England with Brentford in 2014, Jota has played 144 games in the Championship for the Bees and Birmingham City. He was a star performer during his time at Brentford, scoring 23 goals and providing 11 assists in 78 appearances, also playing 75 times for Birmingham City, where he netted eight times and laid on 11 assists.

He made the move to Aston Villa in the summer and has played just 12 times since arriving, scoring one goal and providing two assists in the process.



https://the72.co.uk/155993/fulham-enter-talks-over-deal-for-aston-villa-playmaker-jota/

[WhiteJC]

Huddersfield Town's goalkeeping options with Kamil Grabara major doubt for Fulham

The Terriers' first-choice goalkeeper, on loan from Liverpool, seems likely to miss out on the trip to Craven Cottage



With Kamil Grabara suffering a suspected concussion in the 2-1 win against Hull City on Tuesday night, it would seem unlikely that the goalkeeper will be available for selection for Huddersfield Town's trip to Fulham on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking after Tuesday's game, Town manager Danny Cowley understandably would not be drawn on the issue of the goalkeeping situation if Grabara were to be ruled out.

He said: "I think it would be insensitive of me to talk about that at the moment. We're just worried about Kamil and want to see him recover and for him to to be fit and healthy and until we know the outcome I don't think we can speak any further about that."

The club have since issued an update on Grabara, confirming that while he is conscious and alert he has a suspected concussion and will spend another night in hospital on Wednesday night for observation. Cowley will provide a further update

So what are Town's options in Grabara's absence?

Ryan Schofield began this season as second-choice goalkeeper and has twice deputised for Grabara, but the academy graduate departed on loan to Livingston earlier this month and has missed both of the Scottish Premier League side's last two games with an injury of his own in any case. We also don't know whether Schofield could be recalled even if Town wanted to bring him back.

That leaves 24-year-old Joel Coleman as the only other senior goalkeeper currently at the club. He played the full 90 minutes in the 2-0 defeat to Southampton and came on against Hull when Grabara was taken off on a stretcher, as well as playing on the final day of the Premier League season last year - also away to Southampton, funnily enough.

Coleman has done absolutely fine on each of his two-and-a-half appearances for Town since returning from a half-season loan at Shrewsbury last January and Cowley is unlikely to have qualms about putting him in again at Craven Cottage if need be.

EFL rules stipulate that emergency seven-day goalkeeper loans can only be made if all of a club's professional keepers are unavailable through injury, suspension or international duty, so unless Coleman were to fall injured, that would not be an option for Town.

That would leave a space on the substitute's bench. From afar Jacob Chapman  - who has been playing for Ossett United on a work experience basis - would appear to be the most obvious candidate for the job.

The 19-year-old Australian signed a new contract with the club in October and was included in the squad for Town's warm-weather training trip to Dubai during the November international break. He also travelled with the first-team squad to Town's away game against Luton Town earlier this season, taking part in the goalkeepers' warm-up session.

Fellow academy scholar Giosue Bellagambi is another who travelled to Dubai but has generally second-choice to Chapman for Town's Elite Development Team this season, including in the 3-1 defeat to Celtic on Tuesday afternoon.

Luke Mewitt went on the team's pre-season training camp in Austria, but is out on loan at Hyde United until the end of the season; while it was announced on Wednesday that another academy goalkeeper, Harrison Davison-Hale, has completed his two-year scholarship and left the club.

Ben Hamer remains a Huddersfield Town player but is on a season-long loan at Derby County.



https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/football/news/huddersfield-towns-goalkeeping-options-kamil-17653504

[WhiteJC]

Report: Aston Villa in talks to sell player Smith called 'wonderful'; he is London-bound

Jota has started just four Premier League games for Aston Villa and he is reportedly set to return to the Championship with Fulham.

Aston Villa will allow Jota to leave the Midlands before the month is out with the Spanish schemer in talks over a move to Fulham, according to the Mail.

The Cottagers might still be four points adrift of the automatic promotion positions but, on paper at least, Scott Parker has a forward line that most Championship managers would kill for.

Aleksandar Mitrovic, Anthony Knockaert, Bobby Reid and Ivan Cavaleiro have all taken the second-tier by storm in the past, after all. And it seems that another attacker with a superb track record in one of Europe's most enthralling leagues is on his way to Craven Cottage to make Parker's attack even more fearsome.

Just last season, Jota produced 11 assists for a struggling Birmingham City side and he was arguably the most influential playmaker in the division during his stellar spell at Brentford.

Life in the Premier League has proven to be far tougher, however, with the 28-year-old struggling to make an impact since his controversial move across the Second City.

Jota started brilliantly, justifying his £6 million price-tag with a sublime assist against Everton in August in a display which manager Dean Smith described as 'excellent. He's a wonderful little talent. He has great awareness."

But he has started just four top-flight games in total and, despite Smith's admiration, continues to slip further down the pecking order.



https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2020/01/29/do-report-aston-villa-in-talks-to-sell-player-smith-called-wonde/

[WhiteJC]

3 things potential Jota deal could bring to Fulham

Fulham are set to make a loan move for Aston Villa's Jota ahead of the transfer deadline day, according to the Daily Mail.

The move would see the winger add some depth to Fulham's squad as they look to compete for the top two places in the division.

They currently have some top wide players at the club, and Jota would be another that has proven himself at Championship level.

Here are THREE things potential Jota deal could bring to Fulham...

Competition
Jota would be able to bring something that is very key for all Championship sides that look to get promoted from the division. He'd bring competition. It's a hugely important asset to have and will only push the other players at the club.

Fulham have some very good wingers in Anthony Knockaert and Ivan Cavaleiro, but Jota would push them to the limit as they'd know if they don't perform that the loanee would come in and take their place in the starting XI. It would only end up being a positive for the club.

Skills
Jota has a lot of skills at his disposal, and he knows how to beat a man with his silky footwork. It's something he's been able to do at every club he's been at and makes him a player that can get the crowd off their feet and any given opportunity.

This can be a big boost, and in the games that Fulham dominate possession in, there is strong potential now for Jota to be the man that is able to unlock the door to Scott Parker's side scoring more goals.

Experience
He may not come across as a player who you'd straight away think of when it comes to past Championship players, but he does have a lot of experience in the league and knows exactly what it takes to win games in this division.

That could be ever so vital late on in games for Parker's sides, and he really could be a missing piece of the Fulham jigsaw. He's not necessarily the quickest winger, but when he's on the ball it's always important to know what you're doing in a calm manner.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/3-things-potential-jota-deal-could-bring-to-fulham/

[WhiteJC]

Pereira Joins

Tony Khan, Fulham Football Club's Vice Chairman and Director of Football Operations today appointed Javier Pereira as Assistant Director of Football Operations with immediate effect.

In his role, Javier will work closely with Tony on football business matters including talent identification and development but his primary focus will be on embedding the club's playing philosophy through all Fulham's teams from youth level to the First Team, ensuring the attractive play Fulham is famous for is exemplified throughout the club.

A wealth of experience in Spanish football, Pereira became Assistant Manager to Slavisa Jokanovic during his time at Watford FC in 2014 where they achieved promotion to the Premier League, at Maccabi Tel Aviv, and at Fulham from 2015 – 2018 where promotion to the Premier League was also famously accomplished at Wembley stadium in the Championship play off final in May 2018.

After departing Fulham in 2018, Javier was appointed Assistant Manager to Jordi Cruyff at Chinese club Chongqing Lifan FC, where he ensured the club secured its position in the Chinese Super League for a further season.

Speaking of the appointment Tony Khan said:

"I am truly delighted to welcome Javier back to Fulham! I'm thrilled that he's agreed to join my staff, and I'm looking forward to working with him and striving to build a sustainable winning programme. I know Javier well from his time at the club, and we remained in contact after he left.  We share the same vision for Fulham and the same philosophy of football, and we'll work together to apply that shared vision to deliver success. I have the utmost respect in Javier's abilities, he's a true football man, understands our club, and is up for the challenge.

"We have a fantastic group of players and the commitment of our staff, day in and day out, is unrivalled in sport. Our Head Coach, Scott Parker, is dedicated to the success of the team, the squad and staff are fully behind him, and I know that with strong support we can make sure he has the resources to achieve what we all want, football being played at the Cottage back in the Premier League.

Come on Fulham."

Javier Pereira added:

"I was delighted to be asked by Tony to return to Fulham and assist him in football operations and adding value where I can. I really enjoyed my time here and have some great memories of our promotion winning season and I very much hope we can achieve the success the Chairman, the team and of course the fans deserve".



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2020/january/29/pereira-joins