Wednesday Fulham Stuff - 01/06/22...

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Significant update shared as Bournemouth, Fulham & Celtic chase defender deal

Schalke have confirmed that they will not be taking up the option to sign Ko Itakura on a permanent basis from Manchester City.

The centre-back joined the Bundesliga II side last summer and he enjoyed a fine campaign as he helped the team back to the top-flight as champions.

However, even though Itakura was crucial to their success, Schalke are not in a position to spend the £6m fee that was required to make the move a permanent one, with the club stating that this afternoon.

That will be a big boost to Fulham, Bournemouth and Celtic, all of who have been credited with an interest in the Japanese international.

Itakura is still sure to leave City in the coming weeks, as he is understandably some way away from the first-team with Pep Guardiola's side, so he will need to depart to get regular minutes elsewhere.

The three sides will still face a battle to land the 25-year-old, as there is more interest from Germany, with Hoffenheim and Freiburg also thought to be monitoring the player.

The verdict

This was a surprise in a sense because Itakura was excellent this year for Schalke but the club explained that they simply weren't in a position to spend that sort of money.

For all the interested clubs, it's a major boost and it means it's now a free run at the defender, who is sure to be on the move in the coming weeks.

So, the player is going to have a big decision to make shortly and it will be interesting to see where he is playing his football next season.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/significant-update-shared-as-bournemouth-fulham-celtic-chase-defender-deal/

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Everton, Fulham, Sevilla interested in Harry Winks

Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks is reportedly attracting interest from multiple clubs, with Everton, Fulham and Sevilla all said to be keeping tabs on him.

According to a report by The Sun, La Liga giants Sevilla are ready to join the race for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks. The 26-year-old does not feature in Antonio Conte's plans going forward, and Spurs want to offload him this summer.

Winks has seen his game time take a hit in the recently-concluded season, with Conte preferring Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur in the midfield. The English international made 19 Premier League appearances for Tottenham in the 2021/22 term, a majority of which came from the bench. He was an unused substitute in 16 league matches.

Oliver Skipp is set to return from a long-term injury, and Spurs are also in the market for a central midfielder, who, if signed, will further limit Winks's opportunities. Thus, the time is right for the 26-year-old to move to greener pastures after making over 200 appearances for Tottenham across competitions. Spurs reportedly value him at £25 million.

Winks also has a list of suitors lining up, so finding a new club in the summer will not be difficult, especially when he was also linked with a departure in January. If the English international wishes to stay in the Premier League, he has Fulham and Everton to choose from.

At Everton and Fulham, Winks is expected to get a starting role. While Fulham gained promotion to the Premier League this season, Everton narrowly avoided relegation and wish to strengthen ahead of the upcoming term.

He also has ample Premier League experience under his belt, with his best season in a Tottenham shirt coming in 2019/20, when he made 41 appearances across competitions. But since then, Winks has been largely limited to appearances off the bench.

Sevilla, too, have now emerged as potential suitors. The La Liga side can offer Winks a change in atmosphere and a chance to play in a league where his technical gameplay can be utilised properly. Southampton have also shown interest in signing the midfielder, who still has two years left on his Spurs contract, although they could struggle to match the north Londoners' asking price.



http://www.thehardtackle.com/transfer-news/2022/06/01/everton-fulham-sevilla-interested-in-harry-winks/

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Cyrus Christie ready to challenge Coleman and Doherty for starting spot
The 29-year-old insists he can do every bit as good a job for Stephen Kenny's men as Seamus Coleman and Matt Doherty.

Cyrus Christie knows he hasn't been anyone's idea of a first-choice player down Ireland's right flank but the 29-year-old insists he can do every bit as good a job for Stephen Kenny's men as Seamus Coleman and Matt Doherty.

That's a bold statement but one very much in keeping with a player who played some of the best football of his career at Swansea City during the second-half of a season that had seen him frozen out by his parent club Fulham through to January.

"The first six months was tough but I've gone away and played really well and my confidence is high and that's (as a result of) being given the confidence to showcase myself. I'm hoping I get the chance to get picked and it's obviously always tough when Matt is playing and you have Seamus there as well.

"They're great players, so there is big competition in front, but I feel that when I am playing well I can do just as good a job as them and I know a lot of the time a lot of people have wanted Docs in the team when I have been playing.

"People have made it clear and I understand but, at the same time, Docs had been playing at the same level as me so it was just down to what the manager wanted and Docs has gone on from strength to strength and there have been times when he hasn't played also." Doherty won't be playing any part against Armenia in Yerevan this weekend, or at any stage of the three games that come along in quick succession after that before the summer break. The Tottenham Hotspur player was ruled out long-term with a knee injury in mid-April.

Coleman has been a superb servant for Ireland but the skipper will be 34 in October and so players like Christie and the young and versatile Festy Ebosele will, naturally, come more into focus over the course of the coming weeks.

Christie has made his career as a right-back but he adapted brilliantly to the unfamiliar role of wing-back at Swansea where he provided five assists and three goals in 23 appearances for a side that likes to play a possession-based game.

Sounds like Kenny's kind of guy, in fairness.

Christie has 29 caps to his name without having ever solidified a place for himself in the side but he does offer a versatility which was tested when Martin O'Neill named him in midfield for Ireland's first ever Nations League game, away to Wales four years ago.

That ended in a 4-1 loss in Cardiff but he has played on the right and the left for Swansea, and on the right of a back three. Those are all good strings to have in your bow given Kenny's tendency to tweak systems and personnel as the occasion demands.

"It's obviously going to be different for different games, based on the way that other teams play. There's a lot of variety in the wing backs and I'm sure that we're all different players.

"You are a main cog in the team and you want to cause problems, get in the box and get crosses in to provide chances. But you also need to get back and do the defensive side." Ireland will play Armenia, Scotland and Ukraine (twice) in the space of just eleven days this month so Christie is bound to see some action. It's good timing for a man who will be a free agent on July 1st when his Fulham contract expires.

He is adamant that this next week-and-a-bit is all about Ireland and not some sort of shop window but it stands to reason that one or two more impressive displays will only increase his bargaining position with prospective employers.

Another spell at Swansea would seem obvious only that the Welsh club does not have huge funds to work with this summer, while La Liga side Elche and Serie A's Bologna were both rumoured to be interested in his services at the start of the year.

He is more than open to the idea of a move to the continent.

Whatever the destination it will have to be a step up on that frustrating spell at Fulham. There were times last season when he wasn't even allowed to train at the training ground while others were present. He handled it maturely but why it soured that way he can't say.

"I've not got a clue," he explained. "No-one gave me an answer. It was a decision they made. I'd just got on with it. There's always opportunity around the corner and you have to be ready." He's ready now.



https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/arid-40885589.html