We are officially less than a week away from Premier League action, and I for one am buzzing to get going.
Fulham have made some very good signings so far this summer and things appeared to be taking shape against Stuttgart. That’s not to say we’re done; we all know Fulham need defensive reinforcements and the rumours of this week show that the club and fanbase are aligned in that thinking.
Let’s have a look at who could potentially come in the door before the September deadline.
Incomings
It appears that Fulham are going big on a right-back as well as a centre-back, I’ll start with the rumours from the former.
Fabrizio Romano reported on Sunday that Atalanta had rejected a €20m bid for full-back Raoul Bellanova. The 26 year old has been a target of Fulham for some while and his attacking capabilities would fit right in to what Arbeloa wants from his full-backs. Atalanta have said they are not interested in selling Bellanova so going off other rumours, it appears we may be looking elsewhere.
Reports in Spain suggested that Girona’s Arnau Martinez had reached an agreement to join Valencia for €6m, but Fulham remain interested in signing the 23 year old for his €8m release clause.
Alvaro Arbeloa contacted Martinez directly with the proposal, which could potentially turn his head. Another interesting note on this is that Fabrizio Romano reported on Tuesday night that Valencia had agreed a deal for a different right-back. Could this leave the door open for Fulham?
Finally, reports in Italy suggest that long-standing Fulham target Brooke Norton-Cuffy will move to the Premier League this summer with Everton also interested.
Moving to the centre of defence now, and FulhamTransfer has claimed that Rennes have rejected a second bid for Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal worth €28m with the French club wanting closer to €35m. If true, this feels a bit steep for someone with the limited experience that Ait Boudlal currently has, and going off other reports, Fulham feel the same.
Santi Aouna reports that Fulham have also put an offer down for Real Betis and Brazilian defender Natan while remaining in talks for Ait Boudlal. The same report also mentions Argentine defender Leonardo Balerdi and FulhamTransfer has also mentioned Ajax’s Josip Sutalo as a potential option.
Outgoings
With a right-back looking likely to join before the end of the window then you’d imagine one of Castagne or Tete will depart this summer. Castagne has one year left on his deal so the club may look to recoup some of their outlay, similar to Issa Diop and Sasa Lukic, despite his strong preseason performances.
Paul Joyce has reported that Everton have had an enquiry rebuffed by Fulham and The Athletic suggests that Castagne is on a long list of names that David Moyes is considering.
Looking elsewhere, Sacha Tavolieri has claimed that Al-Shabab have held initial talks with Benjamin Lecomte and with previous reports of the club looking at goalkeeper as a potential area to improve, this is one that could happen. It would need lots of parts to move around, though.
Luc De Fougerolles is attracting interest from Championship sides for a loan but we’d need another defender to come in, in order to free up the Canadian international.
Finally, Luke Harris looks set to join Wigan Athletic on loan and Aaron Loupalo-Bi has completed a loan move to Fleetwood Town. Good luck, lads.