Despite the World Cup currently entertaining the world, many transfer deals are still taking place, with clubs looking to get players at a bargain price before their World Cup exploits or clubs simply looking for good players before other clubs get sniffing around.
As it’s the silly season, we’ve decided to draw up a dream XI, made up of players we’d like to see at Fulham, whether they have been linked with a move to the cottage or not.
Goalkeeper – Tim Krul.
Starting off with an easy choice here, Tim would be a good goalkeeper to bring in, considered one of Newcastle’s best ever premier league keepers and as a result, he has that experience that our squad desperately lacks. Bettinelli could learn from and be pushed by Krul to be a better keeper.
Right back – Axel Tuanzebe.
One of the best players that Ryan Sessegnon had to face last season when we played against Villa at home. Tuanzebe is young, strong and fast, a loan or permanent deal from Manchester United could allow the young man to focus on his development and give us depth which we desperately need in defence.
Centre-back 1 – Tomas Kalas.
Double ex-loanee from our neighbours up the road, we know what we are getting with Tomas and he knows our system well, would be a good squad player.
Centre-back 2 – Toby Alderweireld.
I may look crazy but hear me out. Alderweireld couldn’t get into the Tottenham team last season, only managing 14 appearances, rumours suggest he and the manager, Mauricio Pochettino, do not see eye to eye. Manchester United were interested but have been unable to complete a deal and at 29, Toby could be in his decline. His wages would not be ridiculous due to Tottenham’s wage cap limiting his ambitions and he could be another fine leader in the Fulham team.
Left back – Matt Targett.
Matty Targett impressed massively on loan last season and would be a brilliant signing for Fulham if we could manage it. Like Kalas, he knows our style and that’s integral to us staying up.
Central midfielder 1 – Jack Wilshere.
It was announced last night that Jack would be leaving Arsenal after 17 years and his premier league experience alongside his skill set would be welcomed by many Fulham supporters, although when you look closely into his injury record it becomes clear why he has not reached the dizzy heights that he looked like he would as a youngster. A gamble but could pay off nicely.
Central midfielder 2 – Jack Grealish.
We’ve seen what the man can do on the ball when given a chance to run at a team. He almost took Fulham apart single-handed. Imagine what a player of his ability could achieve alongside higher quality players. The only downside is that due to his age he is still learning and is unproven in the premier league.
Central midfielder 3 – William Carvalho.
Carvalho is an excellent defensive midfield who plays for Sporting Lisbon. West Ham were interested in signing the defensive-minded man but the deal fell apart. After players and staff at sporting Lisbon were attacked, a large majority of players were rightly disgusted and have started looking for moves away from Portugal. If the player wants out then it could be a steal.
Right winger – Jay Rodriguez.
Rodriguez has had a tough couple of seasons with bad injuries and lack of game time affecting his progress. At his peak for Southampton, he was a very good winger who showed he could finish as well as create chances and in the premier league that’s exactly what we need out wingers to do.
Striker – Aleksandar Mitrovic.
One of the main reasons we gained promotion to the premier league. The spearhead of our attack and brings just enough ‘nasty’ play into our game to give the opposition something else to think about. Unwanted at Newcastle and without a doubt would want to be at Fulham.
Left winger – Xherdan Shaqiri.
A fast, stocky winger who has the ability to score wonder goals out of nothing, what isn’t to love? Again, as with most of this list, Xherdan comes with the thing we need most, experience. He struggled last season for relegated stoke but in a Fulham team which can create a surplus number of chances for its wingers he could have a new lease of life and achieve the levels most people believed he had the potential to.
Overall this XI wouldn’t come cheap, some of the players are on frees or available to loan, others belong to relegated teams so we could take advantage of them. By the time we’d bought all of the above players, I’d suggest we’d have paid out around £120 million. This, of course, is an extortionate figure and is one of the main reasons that we won’t sign 11 players, however, if we were to sign the above XI I could see us really making a challenge to the top half of the table next season, even with only half of the above players we could have a good case for premier league survival and that’s the real end goal here. Only time will tell what’s in store for us in this transfer window so buckle in and enjoy the ride.
