Wednesday Fulham Stuff - 13/07/22...

[WhiteJC]

West Ham United rival Fulham in Djibril Sidibe pursuit

Fulham and West Ham United are set to battle it out for the services of Djibril Sidibe to bring the 29-year-old French defender back to the Premier League.

According to Football Insider, West Ham United are set to rival newly-promoted Fulham in the race to sign former AS Monaco and France right-back Djibril Sidibe on a Bosman transfer this summer. The 2018 World Cup winner is available on a free transfer after his contract with Monaco expired earlier this month.

Formerly of Troyes and LOSC Lille, the right-back joined Monaco in 2016 and enjoyed a remarkable debut season with the club. Monaco not only won the French title for the first time in 17 years, but they also advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2016/17.

Sidibe was, of course, an integral part of their success, earning a subsequent call-up to the French national squad. From that high point to now, where Sidibe's time at Monaco has come to an end after five seasons at Stade Louis II, he scored six goals and provided 23 assists over his 174 appearances at the club.

Last season was a difficult one for the Frenchman, plagued by injury issues and a lack of game time. He only made 17 appearances this season, and in his absence, Monaco went on a nine-game winning streak to secure a third-place finish in Ligue 1. Unsatisfied by new contract terms on the table, he rejected a deal to stay at Monaco amid outside interest.

The 29-year-old is now on the lookout for a new club, and his representatives have been approached by a number of European clubs, particularly those in the Premier League. The France international is supposedly keen on a return to the English top-flight despite his rather hit-and-miss loan spell at Everton in 2019/20, where he amassed four assists in 25 appearances for the Toffees.

The Goodison Park outfit decided against exercising the buy option to convert his loan stay into a permanent one back then, but a Premier League return looks to be on the cards this summer with West Ham and Fulham both lining up moves for the Frenchman.

The interest shown by West Ham in signing Sidibe is not surprising, even though West Ham already have two right-backs in their squad – Vladimir Coufal and Ben Johnson. The latter had a good 2021-22 season for the Hammers, but the former showed a slump in form after returning from injury.

Sidibe is a versatile full-back who can cover for both flanks and possesses the energy and dribbling skills to bomb up and down the flank, meaning he could prove to be an excellent depth option for Irons boss David Moyes. At 29, he still has a few good years left in him.

As for the interest from Fulham, manager Marco Silva has previously worked with Sidibe when he was managing Everton and wants to reunite with him at Craven Cottage this summer.

The Cottagers are desperate to add defensive reinforcements, particularly a new right-back after failing to land Liverpool's Neco Williams on a permanent deal following a successful loan stint last term. Sidibe, who can play both right and left-back, fits the profile, and has over 15 caps for French national team, demonstrating his top-level experience and Premier League know how that could be crucial to Fulham's survival next term.



http://www.thehardtackle.com/transfer-news/2022/07/12/west-ham-united-rival-fulham-in-djibril-sidibe-pursuit/

[WhiteJC]

'I'm very happy here': £16m ace suggests he won't be joining Fulham

Musa Barrow insists that he remains 'very happy' at Serie A outfit Bologna despite speculation linking him with a £16 million move to Premier League newcomers Fulham, speaking to Tuttomercatoweb.

You'd need more paper than the entire stock of Hobby Craft if you wanted to keep a list of all the players linked with Fulham since they clinched the Championship title in April.

And, if we were to make an educated guess, we'd suggest that The Cottagers only ever saw Barrow as a contingency plan in case their top target – Manor Solomon – slipped through Marco Silva's fingers.

Reports linking the Gambia international with Fulham emerged in June, via Tuttomercatoweb, at a time in which Solomon's transfer appeared to be stalling like a rusty Vauxhall Nova stuck in a hard shoulder. Now, with Solomon seemingly on his way to West London at last, Barrow's name has disappeared from the gossip columns.

Coincidence or not, the former Atalanta youngster won't be launching his toys out the pram if he's still at the Renato Dall'Ara next season.

Musa Barrow 'very happy' in Italy despite Fulham links

"I'm here and I want to start the season well," Barrow explains.

"In football you change often. Now I'm here, I'm at Bologna. I'm very happy here. (New sporting director Giovanni) Sartori is very good and I hope he can help Bologna a lot."

"I am very happy to be back with my team-mates. We are working well. I see the team in good condition. We can't wait to start. Unfortunately, last year I did not prepare with the team because I was not feeling well, but this year I will try to be at the top."

Barrow, a right-footed left winger like Solomon, provided six goals and six assists in Serie A last season. A tally he is hoping to improve upon.

"I have to have consistency in my goals and assists," he adds. "I'll try to play better than last year."

Fulham are now expected to sign Solomon on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk, after holding talks over a £6 million permanent deal. The Israel international may have to wait until August to get his move, however, with the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine complicating matters.



https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2022/07/12/im-very-happy-here-16m-ace-suggests-he-wont-be-joining-fulham/

[WhiteJC]

Journalist makes bizarre claim about Arsenal & Fulham as £11m man pushes to leave

According to Florian Plettenburg, Fulham think Arsenal are demanding too much for Bernd Leno, who is keen to leave the Emirates Stadium.

What's the story?

Well, the Sky Germany journalist claims Arsenal only want £11m for the 30-year-old, which we think is a very fair asking price.

However, Fulham bizarrely think that the Gunners are demanding too much for the Germany international.

Now, that makes little sense to us.

Before Aaron Ramsdale arrived at Arsenal, Leno was a solid, reliable Premier League performer, who the Gunners spent £22m to sign from Bayer Leverkusen.

He has also amassed nine caps for Germany, which isn't easy given the quality at Hansi Flick's disposal.

Furthermore, Leno is just 30, which is young for a goalkeeper – he still has many years remaining at the top level.

Therefore, we're not quite sure why Fulham think an asking price of just £11m – 50% of what Arsenal paid – is unfair, especially as Leno has arguably improved since he arrived in England.

Admittedly, the Arsenal No.1 has entered the final 12 months of his contract, although he is still worth at least £11m despite that.

If Fulham do meet the asking price, Arteta will head into the 2022/23 campaign with Ramsdale, Matt Turner, Arthur Okonkwo and Alex Runarsson as his goalkeeping options.

Arsenal must stay firm as Fulham circle

Plettenburg adds that Leno is hoping for an agreement between Arsenal and Fulham.

However, we strongly believe Arsenal's £11m asking price is reasonable, if not actually a bit low, so Mikel Arteta and Edu mustn't budge an inch.

The Gunners have struggled to obtain good fees for their unwanted players in the past, leading to the likes of Mesut Özil, Shkodran Mustafi and Sead Kolasinac having their contracts terminated.

Even if Leno begins to kick up a fuss, Arsenal must remain firm – hopefully, the Gunners get the £11m they want.



https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2022/07/12/journalist-makes-bizarre-claim-about-arsenal-fulham-as-11m-man-pushes-to-leave/

[WhiteJC]

Fulham told to pay £20 million for Issa Diop

Newly-promoted Premier League side Fulham have been told to pay £20 million for West Ham United defender Issa Diop.

According to Evening Standard, Fulham have been asked to cough up £20 million to sign West Ham United defender Issa Diop. The Frenchman has fallen down the pecking order at London Stadium and could be headed for a summer exit.

Diop moved to West Ham in a then-club recorder transfer of £22.5 million from Toulouse in 2018. The centre-back was a regular in his first two seasons with the Hammers but gradually fell out of favour, making just 31 Premier League appearances over the last two seasons.

Moreover, central defender Nayef Aguerd has arrived from Rennes, which can further limit Diop's game time. The 25-year-old has thus been linked with a move to Fulham but West Ham are hoping to recoup most of the amount they paid for him four years ago.

The Cottagers gained promotion to the Premier League after finishing atop the Championship table last season. They are eager to strengthen in multiple positions, including the defence and see Diop as a solid option, with four years of English top-flight football under his belt.

As per the Evening Standard report, Fulham have had a £12 million bid rejected for the defender as West Ham remain firm in their valuation. Marco Silva's side could return with an improved bid but the report doesn't mention any such plan from them.

The Cottagers have so far signed two players this summer. Defensive midfielder Joao Palinha has arrived from Sporting Lisbon while Andreas Pereira, who plays in a more attacking role, has joined Fulham from Manchester United.

A centre-back signing is next on their list with Diop, who has just a year remaining on his contract with West Ham, emerging as a possible signing. Manchester United were also said to be keeping tabs on the defender, who has made 118 appearances for West Ham across competitions.



http://www.thehardtackle.com/transfer-news/2022/07/13/fulham-told-to-pay-20-million-for-issa-diop/

[filham]

Fulham's Greatest Scorer is a great feature on the OFFAL and having seen th feature on Ivor I am lookin forward to the rest, especially Beddy Jezzard my choice although there cannot be quality video recordings from those days.

It is though important to remember that our vote will be made only on there time at Fulham and in particular Allan Clarke's time at Leeds will not be relevant.

If players time at other clubs were to be considered we would have mentioned Arthur Rowley who scored 19 goals in 22 games in our 1949 promotion season to the top flight. He only stayed with us for a short time but then went on to score regularly at other clubs to total 434 league goals in a 20 year period.