FULHAM LINKED WITH SHOCK MOVE FOR FORMER CITY STAR

Former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli is gradually returning to the spotlight – his favorite spot – and you love to see it. The former AC Milan striker made headlines two weeks ago after it emerged that the controversial star has been recalled to the Italy national team by head coach Roberto Mancini after a long time away. This week, it has been reported that he is currently attracting interest from English Campionship table-toppers Fulham, who have expressed a desire in taking him to Craven Cottage in the summer. This is according to Turkish publication Star.

The 31-year-old, who has recently received a call-up back to his national squad for a training camp by Roberto Mancini, is currently plying his trade in the Turkish Super Lig for Adana Demirspor. Balotelli is rebuilding his career after brief stints at Marseille, Brescia and Monza and he’s plundered in the goals for Demirspor this season, netting 11 goals in 24 matches in all competitions. Continue reading

LIVERPOOL TO RETURN FOR FULHAM STAR THIS SUMMER

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp identified Fulham wonderkid Fabio Carvalho as a hugely potential signing for the Reds during the January winter transfer window but all the club’s efforts to sign the youngster proved to be abortive as he remained at the London club after the closure of the transfer window. Liverpool opened negotiations with the London club over a transfer for the teenager and talks between the two clubs progressed smoothly

However, the only hitch in the negotiations was that both clubs failed to complete the paperwork on time before the deadline. Failure to wrap up the paperwork proceedings on time meant that Carvalho would miss out on the move to Anfield and remained at Fulham instead.

Fulham manager revealed that the transfer breakdown did not affect the 19-year-old star as he turned up for training the following morning with a smile on his face. However, Liverpool are expected to return for the wonderkid this summer as they look to continue bolstering their squad with fresh faces.

Following the signing of forward Lucas Diaz, it is widely believed that the the Reds are slowly planning for life after their aging stars including their prolific attack comprising of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, and Roberto Firmino. The three forwards are above 30 years of age and are slowly approaching the end of their careers, which makes it only wise for Klopp to start assembling new and young players as their future replacements.

There are other clubs interested in signing Carvalho though, including Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, and AC Milan. If the 19-year-old signs for a foreign club, it will take a lesser amount to sign him as compared to if he joined a fellow English Premier League club or some other English outfit.

FA CUP: FULHAM SEE OFF BRISTOL

Premier League promotion chasers Fulham are through to the fourth round of this season’s FA Cup after they saw off Bristol City away from home. In the battle of two teams from the English Championship, Fulham needed extra time to progress into the next round thanks to a 1-0 scoreline.

Bristol City and Fulham had chances to win the FA Cup third round clash in regulation time but they could not find the back of the net. In the absence of replays for third round games, extra time and possibly penalties were needed to decide the team that will seal a place in the fourth round of the competition.
Fulham scored the winning goal of the game at the end of first half in extra time thanks to Welsh international Harry Wilson who produced a devilish cross that evaded everyone and into the back of the net. The former Liverpool winger had come on as a substitute in the place of Nathaniel Chalobahin the final minute of regulation time.

After the Cottagers scored through Wilson, Bristol City threw everything at them but they managed to survive to book their place in the fourth round.

The away win was a morale-boosting one for Fulham who had been without a win in the Championship since November. They drew four games in a row in the Championship before they lost 1-0 at home to Sheffield United in their last game.
Their five-match winless run has seen them drop from the Championship summit to third on the league table with Bournemouth and Blackburn Rovers overtaking them though they have games in hand over the two teams above them.

The reward for beating Bristol City is a daunting trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Premier League champions Manchester City who are one of the favourites to win this season’s FA Cup.

FULHAM DUO COULD LEAVE IN JANUARY

Fulham are the leading team in the English Championship at the moment and they are in a fantastic position to return to the Premier League next season. The Cottagers were one of three teams demoted from the Premier League last season alongside Sheffield United and West Brom.

West London giants Fulham are not new to securing promotion to the Premier League shortly after relegation from the same division. They achieved Premier League promotion at the end of the first season after their relegation three seasons ago and they are set to achieve the same feat this season. As things stand, Fulham have a one-point lead over Bournemouth at the English Championship summit after 21 rounds of games. Fulham and Bournemouth are the top two trams in the Championship and are on course to bag spots in the Premier League next season. Bournemouth are in second place and they have a six-point advantage over West Brom in third place. The teams from third to sixth on the league table will battle for the third and final Premier League slot via the playoffs.

Fulham are in a good position to achieve their target of Premier League promotion as pointed out earlier, but they could lose some players when the winter transfer window reopens in the next three weeks. 19-year-old attacker Fabio Carvalho has had a good season for Fulhamso far and a lot of teams are monitoring his situation in West London as he has six months left on his contract and he could leave for free next summer.

Real Madrid, Barcelona and a lot of other big European teams have been linked with Fulham youngster Carvalho who has four goals and one assist in 11 Championship games this season.

Apart from Fulhamattacking talent Carvalho, Anthony Knockaerthas also been linked with a move away from the Cottagers in search of regular first team football.

CARVALHO: FULHAM DEALT BIG BLOW

Fulham have been dealt a big blow following the news that young attacker Fabio Carvalho has turned down the offer of a new contract from the club. This is according to English journalist Tom Barclays who said that the Fulhamplayer has rejected the Cottagers’ latest attempts to tie his long-term future down at the club.

Barclays writes for popular English publication The Sun and he stated that the player rebuffed a relatively lucrative contract offer from Fulham and that the London club will likely not make a new offer for the player. Continue reading

CHAMPIONSHIP: FULHAM SLIDE DOWN THE TABLE

Fulham have dropped down on the English Championship table after the big defeat suffered at the hands of Coventry City in their last game in the competition. The Cottagers were on the receiving end of a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of the Sky Blues. Fulham were convincingly beaten by their hosts.

The Cottagers were in a fantastic position at the half-time interval until everything fell apart in the second half. Fulham had established a slim lead at the break only for their defensive organisation to go up in flames in the second half as they conceded four goals including a brace from in-form Swedish attacker Viktor Gyokeres. Continue reading

FULHAM MAINTAIN WINNING RUN AGAINST STOKE

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English Championship leaders Fulham are the form team in the division after they took their winning run to four games with an emphatic win over Stoke City. Fulham thrashed the Potters 3-0 at home to make it four consecutive wins in the Championship. The Cottagers have won all their games in the league since the opening weekend of the new season as they attempt to secure an instant return to the Premier League.

Fulham were promoted to the Premier League at the start of last season but they could not preserve their status as they were relegated from the league alongside Sheffield United and West Brom. Continue reading

BOURNEMOUTH TARGET AVAILABLE FOR TRANSFER

Michael Hector is one of the players that could leave Fulham this summer after it was confirmed that the centre back is available for a transfer. West London Sport reported that Fulham are prepared to trim their squad by offloading one or two of their central defenders.

Fulham have six centre backs in their first team at the moment including Hector. Others are TosinAdarabioyo, Alfie Mawson, Maxim Le Marchand, Terrence Kongolo and Tim Ream.

English journalist Darren Witcooprevealed on Twitter that Bournemouth are keen on signing Hector this summer. The Cherries have appointed Scott Parker as their new manager and he knows all about the defensive qualities that Hector possesses having worked with him at Fulham.

Hector helped Fulham secure a return to the Premier League in his first season at the London team but he was unable to secure a place in the starting XI under Parker in the Premier League.

28-year-old Hector began his career at Reading before moving to Chelsea six years ago. The centre back played 63 times for the Royals before his surprising transfer to Stamford Bridge. Hector didn’t feature for the first team squad at Chelsea as he spent the majority of his time at the club on loan.

Fulham defender Hector was sent out to clubs such as German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt as well as the English duo of Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City. Hector could be on the move again this summer due to his current status under new manager Marco Silva at Fulham. He could be one of the defenders sacrificed as Fulham trim their squad.

Hector was part of the Fulham team that suffered relegation last season under Scott Parker and the target for the Cottagers is a return to the Premier League. The Fulham player is a target for Bournemouth.

NEWCASTLE LEAD RACE FOR DEFENDER

Newcastle United are leading the race to sign Tottenham Hotspur defender Cameron Carter-Vickers who spent last season on loan at Bournemouth in the English Championship. It has been reported that the Magpies are leading Fulham and Cardiff City in the race to sign him.
Newcastle United are the only Premier League team in the hunt for the American international after Fulham failed to secure Premier League safety and Welsh team Cardiff City didn’t make the playoffs at the end of the Championship season last term.

Apart from Newcastle United, Fulham and Cardiff City, Bournemouth also want to sign the player. The Cherries want to sign the player on a permanent deal after a successful loan spell. Cameron Carter-Vickers recovered from injury to make 23 appearances for Bournemouth last season in the Championship as the South Coast club bagged a place in the playoffs for a place in the Premier League. In the end, Bournemouth were beaten by Brentford in the playoff semi-finals over two legs and the London club would go on to seal a Premier League slot for the new season courtesy the 2-0 win over Swansea City from Wales in theChampionship playoff final.

Newcastle United are the frontrunners to sign the Spurs player as confirmed by American media outlet SBI Soccer. It was also disclosed that Major League Soccer (MLS) team New York Red Bulls are also keen on signing the player whom North London giants Tottenham Hotspur are looking to sell for around £10m.

Both Cardiff City and Fulham are said to have made contact with Spurs over the American defender who came to Bournemouth with an injury last season. He went on to become a key player for the Cherries after recovering from that injury.

Newcastle United won’t have any problems meeting the £10m valuation from Spurs for the player but the same can’t be said for Championship teams like Fulham, Bournemouth and Cardiff City.

ARSENAL EYEING MOVE FOR ANGUISSA

North London giants Arsenal are said to be one of the clubs interested in a move for Fulham midfielder Frank ZamboAnguissa. The Gunners interest in the Cameroonian international was reported by popular media outlet Metro as the club continues the search for a midfielder.

Arsenal are expected to sign at least one midfielder this summer and it could be more depending on the departures at the club this summer.
Swiss international Granit Xhaka has already been linked with a move to the Italian Serie A. Recent reports claimed that AS Roma are in talks with the Gunners over a move for him. Another Arsenal midfielder that could be on his way out of the Emirates Stadium is Joe Willock who had a fantastic loan spell at Newcastle United in the second half of the recently finished Premier League campaign.

Willock scored eight goals for Newcastle United including a run of finding the back of the net in seven successive games until the end of the season thus becoming only the second player to achieve the feat for the Magpies after club legend Alan Shearer. Newcastle United want to sign the 21-year-old Willock on a permanent deal and the player is also keen to stay in the northeast but Arsenal have delayed the decision on his future at the club until pre-season starts next month.

One departure that has been confirmed in the Arsenal midfield is Dani Ceballos who will return to parent club Real Madrid at the end of this month. Apart from Fulham midfielder, Brighton and Hove Albion player Yves Bissouma and Wolverhampton Wanderers star Ruben Neves are two midfield players also been linked with a transfer to the Gunners this summer.

ESPN has reported that Napoli are also monitoring the situation of Anguissa at Fulham with the possibility of making a move for the Cameroon player. Anguissa was part of the Fulham team that suffered relegation at the end of the latest league season in the English top flight.