Monday Fulham Stuff - 24/07/23...

[WhiteJC]

Palhinha's shoulder injury is 'serious,' says Silva
Joao Palhinha looks likely to miss the start of the Premier League after separating his shoulder just before half-time in Fulham's pre-season friendly victory over Brentford in Philadelphia last night.

The Portuguese international, playing at centre back, limped down the tunnel after attempting to win the ball back and falling awkwardly to the floor and, although Fulham will wait for scans to judge the seriousness of the injury, Silva was not optimistic when speaking in his post-match press conference.

    "Unfortunately, it doesn't look good. It's serious, but let's hope it's not too serious. It's his shoulder, probably dislocated. Tomorrow he's going to do a scan and it will be more clear for me to update you on the situation. Let's hope it's not another long-term injury for us."

The Fulham head coach was pleased with quality of Fulham's first outing in the Summer Series.

    It was good, a really competitive match. I think the fans enjoyed it. I saw good things, great goals, the first two goals were great goals. The way we started the first half was really good, really good. We expected strong pressure from a good Brentford side. The way we played through the pressure, we tried to beat the pressure every time, with enough courage to do it. 'm pleased with some of the things that I saw, there are things to improve, as always, and we have to keep going."

Silva emphasised that he wants Aleskandar Mitrovic to remain at the club, but that Serbian striker would have to train with his team-mates in order to be considered for selection.

    I spoke with the board – [I have] no updates on Mitrovic. A player that is not training, and is not in the picture with his teammates, is not going to play. It's easy for me to decide. If he trains with his teammates, he's going to play matches. If he's not training with his teammates, he's not going to play. Of course, if Mitrovic is my player I would like him to train, to be involved in all the moments with the team. You know that, that I would like to have him participating in all the moments with the team."



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2023/07/palhinhas-shoulder-injury-is-serious-says-silva/

[WhiteJC]

Out-of-favour Cobham graduate agrees deal with Fulham as Chelsea exit looms
Chelsea star Callum Hudson-Odoi has agreed personal terms with Fulham ahead of a potential summer transfer
According to the Evening Standard, Callum Hudson-Odoi is now pushing to leave Chelsea this summer transfer window after agreeing personal terms with Premier League rivals Fulham. The 22-year-old has been training with the Blues U21 side of late and does not appear to be in Mauricio Pochettino's plans.

Chelsea are hoping to collect a satisfactory transfer fee for the Cobham graduate and have urged Italian giants Lazio to join the race to trigger a bidding war. Former Blues manager Maurizio Sarri, now in charge of Lazio, is keen to reunite with the player in the Italian capital.

But Lazio have yet to contact the players and are assessing a loan move with an option to buy the 22-year-old. However, with his deal up next summer, it puts us at a disadvantage. It is in our best interests to offload him from our books this summer and reinvest the amount back into the squad.

The 22-year-old is on £120,000 a week salary, and getting it off our books will free up the wage cap. After all it is a hefty wage for a player who is far from certain to receive regular playtime in the 2023-24 season. Given that Hudson-Odoi was not taken to the USA for the pre-season tour, it is clear that Chelsea are keen to cut their losses.

His time at Chelsea looked particularly promising early on but it has now fallen by the wayside. The poor season long loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen has done little to enhance his reputation either. Now it would appear that he has reached the end of the road, at least in Blue.

Fulham are leading the race to sign Chelsea star Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Considering that he is only 22 and still has a long career ahead of him, Hudson-Odoi can certainly resurrect his career under the right manager. Joining Fulham is a step down from Chelsea but under Marco Silva, the Cottagers have showcased remarkable potential. There is reason to believe that the Chelsea man too can rediscover his best at Craven Cottage.

Since Chelsea have several young players, it will be difficult for Hudson-Odoi to obtain meaningful playing time, which will undoubtedly impede his development. Therefore, it would be smart for him to join another club where he can play and which will contribute to his growth. It does not hurt that we also gain financially from the sale either.



https://www.astamfordbridgetoofar.com/2023/07/chelsea-star-callum-hudson-odoi-has-agreed-personal-terms-with-fulham-ahead-of-a-potential-summer-transfer/

[WhiteJC]

Club Could End Up Not Signing Southampton Star Despite Talks
Fulham might not sign Southampton defender Mohammed Salisu despite being in talks for him, according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Cottagers are working on a couple of deals as they push to reinforce their defence this summer.

Marco Silva wants a left-footed centre-back in his squad ahead of the new season and Fulham are working on multiple deals.

They are in talks with Ajax to sign Calvin Bassey and have also been in conversations with Southampton's Salisu, with claims they are closing in on the Saints man.

The negotiations with Ajax for Bassey, who has been told he will hardly play if he stays in Amsterdam, are also advanced however and Fulham have taken a call.

They have decided they only want to sign one left footed centre-back, meaning a decision must be made.

Fulham will have to decide between Bassey and Salisu and they may not sign the Saints star.

Salisu has other suitors as well with Ligue 1's Monaco believed to be interested in signing him this summer.



https://insidefutbol.com/2023/07/24/club-could-end-up-not-signing-southampton-star-despite-talks/612131/

[WhiteJC]

Calvin Bassey sees Fulham change transfer plan as former Rangers star faces sweat over £18.2m deal
Bassey has endured a torrid spell with Ajax after leaving Rangers in a £19m deal last summer.

Hesitant Fulham will reportedly only sign one left-footed transfer target despite being locked in talks with both Calvin Bassey and Mohammed Salisu.

It's stated discussions to take Bassey home to London from Ajax are advanced. However, the Cottagers will only trigger a deal for one of their central defensive targets and Salisu remains in the mix despite interest from Ligue 1 big-hitters Monaco. Bassey has endured a torrid spell with Ajax after leaving Rangers in a £19m deal on a high after his exploits en route to the Europa League Final. But the Nigeria international has been mercilessly mocked by a string of former Dutch international over his displays in Amsterdam.

And it appeared an exit path to Fulham had been cleared but now a final sweat might be on for a player who is hell-bent on restoring the buzz around him which came after his all-action efforts at Rangers. The 23-year-old has been on Brighton's list for over 12 months but it does not appear Roberto De Zerbi's side will pull the trigger during this window.



https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/calvin-bassey-sees-fulham-change-30537211

[WhiteJC]

Player has to choose between Fulham and another club – Will make decision quickly
Reports from the Italian media continue to sound very optimistic regarding Fodé Ballo-Touré's potential move from AC Milan to Fulham.

The latest claims are made by Calcio Mercato, with journalist Daniele Longo bringing the 'good news' for the Rossoneri.

It's said that Fulham finally reached the €4m request made by Milan to sell the fullback this summer.

According to the story, the final decision is now in the hands of the 26-year-old, who can choose whether to join the Whites or Bologna.

Despite Fulham's offer, it's said the player is also 'attracted by the possibility' of moving to the Serie A rivals.

Calcio Mercato's story says Ballo-Touré's decision should be taken in the next 24 to 48 hours, so we should get to know his next destination quickly.

On Saturday, we saw outlet Milan Live claiming the Bologna alternative actually did not 'take off', and the player had his 'suitcases packed' to fly to England to join Fulham.

Still, journalist Gianluca Di Marzio went against those claims, making it clear that the Italian club was still a possibility. So we better wait and see what his decision will be.



http://sportwitness.co.uk/player-choose-fulham-another-club-will-make-decision-quickly/

[WhiteJC]

Fulham's Harry Wilson caught on ref cam – are they the future?



Harry Wilson's stunning strike for Fulham in a friendly date with Brentford was caught on ref cam, so could they be the future of football coverage?

    Match officials use body cam
    Offer a unique view of the game
    Potential for match coverage

WHAT HAPPENED? The Cottagers were in Summer Series action against the Bees at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. They claimed a 3-2 victory over Premier League rivals on American soil, with Wales international winger Wilson giving them the lead inside three minutes. His curling effort from the edge of the box was a thing of beauty, with a unique view of that goal captured by the camera being worn by match official Peter Bankes.

It's not everyday you see a goal from the referee's point of view...

How Peter Bankes saw Harry Wilson's screamer 👇#PLSummerSeries pic.twitter.com/CI9o1rxOp2

— Premier League (@premierleague) July 23, 2023

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Bobby Decordova-Reid and Carlos Vinicius were also on target for Fulham, with Yoane Wissa and Kristoffer Ajer netting two goals in response for Brentford.

WHAT NEXT? The Premier League is always looking at ways in which it can improve its product – with the cost of broadcasting rights forever on the rise – and it may be that ref cams become a regular feature heading forward as viewers are presented with an altogether different angle from which to watch proceedings.



https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/watch-stunning-goal-fulham-harry-wilson-ref-cam-future/blta8273538ac3e756f

[Bill2]

Perhaps Samuel will print an apology next week?

He was in the Mail previously and if you had read his articles, sometimes heavily politicised,  you would know you have more chance of winning the lottery.