Sunday Fulham Stuff - 13/12/20...

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Sheffield Wednesday's long-term pursuit of 30-y/o is 'all but over' – Fulham, West Brom in pole position

Sheffield Wednesday's long-term pursuit of Newcastle United's Dwight Gayle looks to be coming to an end, with Fulham and West Brom being increasingly linked.

The 30-year-old returned from injury for Newcastle United today.

Having not featured for the club since August, Gayle would come on with 20-minutes to play and score the eventual winner in his side's 2-1 win over West Brom.

The club where he spent the 2018/19 season on-loan, scoring 24 goals in the Championship, are keen on a permanent deal for the striker.

He's out-of-contract in the summer and Newcastle are seemingly stalling on a new deal.

It comes after rumours linking Gayle with a move to Wednesday – the striker was tipped for a loan move to Hillsborough in January, with the possibility of a permanent transfer not being ruled out.

It seemed likely at one point, but now with Gayle returning to the action and with a goal to his name as well, it's reminded Steve Bruce and fans of the talent that he is.

Reports now suggests that Gayle could be offered a new deal at St James' Park, whilst links to both West Brom and Fulham continue to circulate.

Tony Pulis then is left desperate for a striker.

His Wednesday stint continued to worsen yesterday as his side lost 2-1 at home to Barnsley in the Championship – Pulis hasn't won any of his seven games in charge.

Adding to the misery of being the Championship's bottom club, Wednesday have scored just 10 goals all season – four under Pulis' reign.



https://the72.co.uk/206800/sheffield-wednesdays-long-term-pursuit-of-30-y-o-is-all-but-over-fulham-west-brom-in-pole-position/

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Nigeria's Aina makes Premier League history

Nigeria international Ola Aina has made history by winning the English Premier League (EPL) Goal of the Season for November 2020.

The full-back becomes the first player with a Nigerian passport to win the accolade since the award was introduced for the 2016/17 season.

Aina also becomes the latest Fulham player to win the award after his spectacular effort against West Bromwich Albion was voted the best in November.

The London-born player linked up with Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Aleksandar Mitrovic before firing a ferocious shot into the top-left corner from outside the penalty area.

"It was a good strike!" Aina said of his goal on the official Premier League website. https://www.premierleague.com/news/1931701

"It came on to my left and I just felt comfortable to strike it as hard as I could. "It was good for the team. It lifted our spirits and we'll try to build on that."

According to the website, Aina's goal was chosen by a panel of experts combined with a public vote, beating seven other contenders.

Aina is currently on loan at Fulham from Italian Serie A club Torino and the initial season-long loan deal has an option to make the deal permanent.

The 24-year-old, who started his career at English giants Chelsea, has represented England at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19 and England under-20 levels.

Aina pledged his international future to Nigeria and obtained a Nigerian passport in preparation to making the switch from England to Nigeria in May 2017.

He has played 17 international matches for Nigeria.



https://africanfootball.com//news/783286/Nigerias-Aina-makes-Premier-League-history

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