The FFC Rumour Mill: Arbeloa edges closer as Wilson set for exit

Jack Stroudley rounds up another manager-less week for Fulham.

Credit: Leighton Rudd

I was sitting here on Monday evening wondering what on earth I was going to write about this week.

The weekend brought us nothing, and I (along with other members of Fulhamish I speak to daily) were starting to get a little bit restless. Where’s our new manager? Who are we looking to sign? Are Fulham real or is this all just one big simulation? All very valid questions, but as the week progressed, we seemed to get at least a few answers. Let’s take a look.

Incomings

Starting with the sizeable elephant in the room, what is happening with Alvaro Arbeloa? David Ornstein reported on Tuesday morning that a deal between the two parties was getting closer, but Fulham were still insisting that two candidates were in contention. A three-year-deal has been offered to the Spaniard, and the ball appears to be firmly in his court.

I think that might be the first time I’ve seen a report that a club was closing in on a deal but other managers are still in contention. Alas, Fabrizio Romano followed this up with a cryptic tweet hinting that the deal’s progression looking closer thanks to a tweet from Guillem Balague. I’ll spare the details of Balague’s tweet as Drew wrote a piece yestreday laying it out, but get excited - get very excited.

Angel Garcia of Spain has come out and said that if Arbeloa is to join, he will look to bring 19-year-old defender Victor Valdepeñas with him from Real Madrid. Elsewhere, reports in Germany are suggesting that Fulham have had a €3m offer rejected from FC Bayern Munich for Jonah Kusi-Asare. Fulham see potential in the Swedish striker who was with us last season and are expected to go back in for a second bid.

This is an interesting one; JKA failed to set the world alight for the first team but did well for the academy. Maybe one to bring in and develop into our third (and maybe even one day second or first) choice striker.

Fulham appear to have been very busy (if you believe everything you read) with Turkish reporters claiming we have put in a hefty €22m + €3m in add-ons offer for defender Chibuike Nwaiwu which was then rejected by Trabzonspor who are looking for closer to €30m. Finally, the Whites are once again interested in Atalanta full-back Raoul Bellanova.

Outgoings

In terms of departures, the biggest news comes from top scorer Harry Wilson, who is yet to sign a new deal at the club.

The Athletic are reporting that Wilson and Leeds United are in positive talks over a deal with the Welshman’s contract expiring at the end of the month. A deal that was confirmed by David Ornstein yesterday. For me, this feels like a deal purely motivated by money.

I know Leeds are a bigger club than Fulham historically, but over the last 10-15 years or so, the balance of footballing power has swung more to SW6. I mean this with no disrespect to Leeds (who I think are doing good business this window), but if he’s being offered the same, why would you uproot you and your family’s lives to Yorkshire to play for another side that also finished mid-table last season?

Elsewhere, there are more reports of Sander Berge departing this summer, this time for newly promoted Hull City. This has come from Sportsboomcom, so take it with a rather large pinch of salt. But as I said last week when the Norwegian was linked to Manchester United: if Fulham can make a profit on Berge, I wouldn’t be opposed to selling.