Hello! It's the 2nd Part to my Summer Window Preview- and you might, just might have guessed what this one is about from the Title. It is of course the "Ins" part- and it'll be my definitive one in that every single name on this I'd love to see join; although of course a lot of them are either/ors. I'm going to break it down position by position evaluating the options we have already in said position if we need a First Teamer or a Squad Player to come in and if we need more than one person in said position. I'm going to talk about some perhaps obvious players- but also a couple you may not have thought of or known about before this. Anyway, because while I don't really know I'm anticipating this'll be a long one so I won't ramble anymore.
Actually some more ramblings, Yes- this is on Friday; that's because of the Wrasslin Part of this Blog coming to the fore on Wednesday and meriting a Review on Thursday and I hate to Double Up- especially when I don't necessarily have to so I thought it'd just make more sense for me to put this up a day later. So sorry if you were anticipating Part 2 Yesterday- and I hope you understand. Also these'll be moving to Saturday come June, it's not me I swear it's American TV Networks shifting the Days- I MEAN IT THIS TIME, NO MORE RAMBLING.
Goalkeeper
While we haven't done our Released List yet- I think it's safe to assume that Kiraly will be on there- and I highly doubt Stekelenburg will even bother unpacking once his Loan with Monaco is over. Bettinelli (as long as he stays, and remains fit) will start out as our #1 next season without a doubt. But what we need to be mindful of is if Bettinelli gets a Red Card as he did against Watford, does get injured- or if he has a dip in form like he did around February/March time (as the whole team did) we have someone waiting in the wings that will be a capable replacement for him. As such, and looking at the potential Free Agents I don't even think we need to spend money other than wages in order to get a good Back-Up who can also fill in.
Jussi Jaaskelainen- Obviously me writing this before the Premier League Season has ended means I could always be wrong with the assumption that Jaaskelainen with his contract up at the End of the Season with his age and Adrian's dominance as West Ham's #1 I can't see them renewing his contract. As such Jaaskelainen is someone I'd be looking at without a shadow of a doubt as a Back-Up and somewhat of a Mentor role for both Bettinelli and Joronen- Joronen in particular with the obvious Finnish Connection. His wages may be a stumbling block, as he's been on Premier League wages for pretty much the last decade (and a bit more on top), but given his age and the fact it wouldn't require a move away from London I would hope he'd be open to signing with us for the "right" wages.
Ali Al-Habsi- Unlike Jaaskelainen, Al-Habsi has confirmed he's leaving Wigan this Summer- and if we can't get Jaaskelainen Al-Habsi is the next best thing. Yes, Wigan were a complete train-wreck last season- but Al-Habsi is someone who is without a doubt a capable Goalkeeper at this level; and the way he and Carson shared the Gloves this Season for Wigan is proof that he is willing (seemingly) to work in a "bit-part" role. For me any Keeper who is "experienced" and also still a capable Goalkeeper is a suitable signing for us in this area with the primary goal of challenging and filling in when needed for Bettinelli.
It's personal preference that we bring in someone "experienced" as a back-up for Bettinelli, I did talk with someone on Twitter about bringing in someone who's younger and "hungrier"- specifically in our discussion talking about Daniel Bentley from Southend; however I'm not sure a capable young Keeper would want to come to Fulham knowing Bettinelli is the firm #1 and knowing he may stall his development to an extent by coming to us; I'd be open to us signing someone like Daniel Bentley however especially if Southend go up I think it isn't an option the Player primarily would want to go down because to put it bluntly we finished 17th in the Championship- we won't have the pulling power we did a few years ago.
Defenders
I don't think it's a great secret that we need to completely revamp our defence- the players who I'll propose may be slightly out there in some cases, however I don't think any of the players I'll say will be entirely out of range.
Right-Back
Pretty much the only Right-Back we have left at the Club is Jack Grimmer, As with Kiraly although we haven't announced the Release list yet I would expect Hoogland to be on it- and then with Jazz Richards not only going back but starting for Swansea albeit because Angel Rangel was injured it makes the area an area that needs a marked improvement.
Tendayi Darikwa- I'm fully expecting Darikwa to take the step up from Chesterfield and move to the Championship this Summer- and I'm just praying it's in a Fulham shirt. For those of you that don't know him- he's primarily an absolutely sublime athlete- the player I'd most compare him to is Moses Odubajo, and much like Odubajo I can see him playing a key role in the Playoffs push of a team after signing from a League 1 team. He's just a great Right-Back, he can go up and down the line all game- and he's also solid defensively which is the massive issue we've had from our Full-Backs. Also one of his main selling points to me is that he's only 23, meaning not only is he coming into his "prime" years- his value would only increase given the fact he's a Powerful, Young, English Right-Back.
Liam Rosenior- He's out of Contract this Summer, and he's worth the discussion. It looks as though Hull are going down- although this is of course written before Sunday I don't think it looks like he'll re-sign. For me it's a definite no but I saw a few people on Forums discussing him so I thought I'd bring him up- and as I'll discuss in the next person as well for me signing any player we've had before; unless they were at most a bit-part player or a versatile player is the wrong way to go entirely.
If I had an unlimited budget I'd chuck in whatever it took to get Moses Odubajo from them lot down the road- so I thought I'd go for in my opinion the next best thing in Darikwa. For me we only need to sign the one Outright Right-Back because we of course have Grimmer- and then as I'll discuss a bit later on provided the wages are right a certain player with the suffix "inho" might be back in a Fulham shirt next season.
Left-Back
With Stafylidis going back to Leverkusen, Amorebieta not doing it for me as a Left-back and Kavanagh seemingly being exclusively in Midfield we once again pretty much don't have a Left-Back so need to be looking at another First-Teamer.
James Husband- This is pretty much a no-brainer, with him already coming to us on Loan- and while it could change come after Bank Holiday Monday I would hope Boro would have an interest in attaining Amorebieta's services for next season- so for us to get a good young English Left-Back and get Amorebieta's wages off of our books in one move would be ideal- and no fee would need to be involved on either side.
Ben Coker- Seemingly on a recurring Southend theme Coker makes an appearance, he wouldn't be a first choice player for us necessarily- but he'd give a lot of depth to our Left-Back role if he was there alongside Husband there would be real competition between the two for the role- and for me I'd want to see competition for every role on the pitch, that's not to say we wouldn't have the obvious "key" players and first team players but we'd be able to cope with injuries, suspensions or losses of form seamlessly.
Centre-Back
As with the Previous two Defensive Positions Centre-Back is yet another area where we need a marked improvement. There's one player in particular who I've been going on about- but there's also a few others that I haven't necessarily discussed but have an equal interest in.
Aden Flint- It's not a shock to see him in this if you've been reading this for the back end of the season. Flint for me is the near perfect player for us and what we need, whether we'd be able to pry him away from Bristol City is another matter- but for me someone who's unproven at Championship level wouldn't command a fee so big it would make it completely unreasonable fee wise to chase him. The fee I've been talking about on and off is the 2-3 Million mark and Matt Smith; which I'll stand by with for this. Flint is almost too perfect a choice for what I personally want and perceive us to need this Summer.
Michael Turner- As with Husband, Turner is someone who was with us at the back-end of last season so would presumably be open to making the move permanent. I think his availability is dependant on the Playoff Final at least more so in Turner's case than it is Husband's and if Norwich don't win on Monday they might not be open to selling to us a player who is capable at this level because at least headed into the season you have to assume we'll be talked about in the Playoff mix- whether or not that talk equates to on the field capability is another thing.
Brede Hangeland- This is more talking about what I've seen as opposed to what I want. Apparently- emphasis on apparently Hangeland (and Sidwell- more later) want a return to Craven Cottage. It's a weird one, it's impossible to say primarily how Hangeland would perform at Championship level- but I think primarily because his legs are gone he wouldn't be a capable First-Teamer, as such the wages would be a stumbling block in my opinion because he wouldn't be cheap for a bit-part role. However, if the wages were right I'd bring him in as pretty much a Part-Time player who's primary role would be as a mentor of sorts to some of our Younger Players and then come into the team for Cup Games where we rotate and injury when necessary. So in short, I'm not against it necessarily it all depends on how we intend to use him and the wages we pay him- and with him presumably being available for Free with his 1 Year Deal at Palace it could turn into a viable transfer in the right set of circumstances.
Lewis Dunk- Now we're moving onto someone who's been firmly linked with us over the last few weeks. I'm not sure why Brighton would sell to us in all honesty unless we put in a bid that was too good to reject, which I'm not really sure Dunk merits at this stage. That's not to say I wouldn't want us to sign him but I've seen 4million being banded around for him and to me we could get much better value for money for that 4million.
Christophe Berra- I've not seen many links with Berra going to anyone in all honesty, but even if McCarthy isn't coming to us there isn't smoke without fire in the McCarthy is unhappy in the area and may want to move away- and I can't imagine there being a shortage of job opportunities for McCarthy after the job he's done on the budget he had at Ipswich for instance I can see Brentford going after him (quick side note- anyone else see those Brentford want Martin Jol rumours, Would be quite funny in all honesty) and Berra is one of McCarthy's stalwart players- as such if McCarthy did leave I'd love for us to chase him because for me pound for pound he's the best Defender in the League. It's near impossible we would sign him- but he's just someone who I thought I'd raise.
That brings an end to the defensive section- and as I said before it started it's the area that needs the most improvement for us and for me we should be looking to have at least 3 of the 4 of our Back 4 first game of the season being new.
Midfielders
With the Jed Wallace news today there's one less midfielder to discuss but at the same time there's a lot of players to discuss when it comes to the Midfield and the different roles we need to improve in. I can't see a scenario where Parker leaves- but at the same time Parker isn't a 46 Game a Season (plus Cup Games) player, but with Christensen coming back and hopefully rekindling his Pre-Christmas Form, Tunniciffe being a good squad player, Kacaniklic etc. For me we have the foundations of a good midfield but need some improvement- and crucially depth.
Centre-Mids
Chris Baird- Out of all the former players we will inevitably be linked with at some stage throughout the Summer; especially given his Contract with West Brom is up- although that isn't necessarily saying West Brom won't renew his deal. Baird is someone who provided the wages were right would be almost ideal for us. He's such a versatile player and he is still capable of performing at least from what I've seen of him when he's played for West Brom this Season. He can play Holding Midfield- which is where I've positioned him, but can also play Centre-Back, Right-Back and at some times in this season he's even played Left-Back. As I've said it all comes down to wages- if the wages were right he'd be an ideal squad player for us because of his versatility.
Steve Sidwell- I thought I'd get the "Ex-Player" section out of the way early for this before I move onto slightly more imaginative and in my opinion realistic signings. As I said earlier with Hangeland- apparently (which is the key word) Sidwell wants to have Brede in toe and make Craven Cottage his Home again. For me there's 3 issues that I'd cite as to why signing him would be an issue although as with quite a few of the players I've already discussed if the finances were right I'd like Sidwell to come back because for me he still has something to offer provided we put in him in the right role. However that role would be the supposed DM role that Parker has frequented- I think if we saw both guys in the same Midfield again I'd kill myself after the 13/14 season; so it would be either/or. In my opinion Sidwell is the better option out of the two; but we have Parker already at the Club and on Decent Wages so we'd effectively be doubling up in that area.
Dele Alli (Loan)- I'm in no way claiming this one as I did my Bettinelli-Chelsea story but I put up somewhat of a Longlist on Twitter of some of the Players I'd be discussing and I had Dele Alli on that List- Two Days later we were supposedly chasing him. That said for me it's a no-brainer in that if we were able to get him on Loan we should grab that opportunity with both hands. As with Darikwa I can see with somewhat certainty that Alli will be plying his trade in the Championship whether it be for us or against us next season on Loan from Spurs. Alli is exactly the sort of Midfielder we should be looking at to improve us and push on with his energy and general talent contributing to that push.
Conor Hourihane- This may be one slightly out of Left-Field for some of you in that you may not know him. However for me he'd be the near perfect signing for what we need- at least on paper. For him to come Third in the League 1 Assists in a pretty mediocre Barnsley team is a testament in itself to his ability and he's the type of Midfield we really should be looking at in that he's a proper flair Midfielder who's young enough to have a good few years and still have an upward curve in terms of their development. He wouldn't necessarily start every week- but he'd be more than a useful player to have in the Squad and especially if Christensen doesn't catch alight like he did before Christmas he could potentially become a First Team Regular.
Lawson D'Ath- Once again he's a player who may not be known to the majority of you- and he would be primarily a squad player. However he's shown enough potential at Northampton to the point where I know about him and for me he'd be an ideal squad player maybe with a view of Loaning him back to Northampton for the Season.
I've seen a few other players being banded around like Joey Barton and Tom Huddlestone- for varied reasons I simply can't seem them happening so I don't think it's worth the extra energy of a different section for them given how long this Post already is.
Wingers
I'm praying more than anything else that we go to a Formation that uses proper Wingers next season. Width is such a fundamental aspect of any side that is aiming to do well in the Championship and it's an area we need to improve in. Kacaniklic is fine, but he's 1 of in my opinion at the least 2 preferably 3 wingers we should be aiming to have.
Matt Jarvis- In terms of Wingers he'd be the Top Priority for me. He's someone with a massive amount of ability- he's just not been able to break through into the West Ham team this season as such I think he'd available this Summer for a relatively cut-price in comparison to what he can offer. Especially if we play with McCormack and Smith (or another Target-Man type) up-front Matt Jarvis someone who can undoubtedly cross the ball would be an ideal signing for us. Sometimes it really is just as simple as he is exactly what we need.
Anthony Knockaert- Unless I'm mistaken he was linked with Wolves in January- and now Leicester has managed to stay up I think Leicester may be a lot more open to selling Knockaert, as between Mahrez doing so well and Pearson clearly not fancying him as a Premier League quality winger he hasn't had a proper run in this last season and I would think would be available this Summer for around 1.5-2 Million which for me isn't a massive price to pay given the potential windfall you get if you do go up and as with Jarvis he is the type of player we need if we are to have any hope of doing so.
David Cotterill- If I'm honest the only reason I didn't want him in January was because I thought he was Mid Thirties which put me off but it turns out he's in his Mid to Late 20s and still has a few good years left in him- as such I'd love for us to go after him. I'm not just saying this because he scored in both games we played against Birmingham- I just really rate him and with Wingers being such a necessity for me if we can get 2 of these added to Kacaniklic and then George Williams when he comes back we'll definitely improve our Chances of a Promotion Push to no end.
There'll be links for other wingers as well, for instance I saw Shaun Wright-Phillips being linked not so long ago, but in areas like the Wings I want us to go for a fresh outlook and actually use the Wings properly. I don't mind if we don't necessarily get these three as long as the players we do get are similar to the aforementioned players. The main link I saw was Demarai Gray over the last few days/week but I've left him out simply because I don't see it happening- and I think his most likely destination is Bournemouth which would be preferable for obvious reasons.
Attacking Mids
Even though we activated the Extension I don't see a scenario where we keep Bryan- as such we should definitely be looking to get in someone like Bryan. It all depends on what Formation we're going to do however I'll include this section just because it's a role we used last season so you have to assume it'll be the same next season.
Diego Fabbrini- For someone to stand out in our game against Millwall in February was a feat in and of itself- but that's exactly what Fabbrini did and with Watford going up combined with the fact they were already willing to Loan him out while they to were in the Championship you have to assume that Fabbrini would be available. For me this section is looking at the real flair players- and someone who can make the difference, and that's definitely what Fabbrini can do and to be honest we'd be fools not to at least look at him as a possibility.
Nick Powell- Powell is an interesting one, he hasn't really broken through at Utd like I thought he would when I was watching him at Crewe- then again I thought Leitch-Smith was going to be a Championship Quality Striker minimum. With the two managerial changes since Powell signed combined with Man Utd seemingly going for the Galactico mentality in their signings I can see Powell being available to be signed outright- and if he is that's something we should jump all over. That said even if he isn't we should still try and get him on Loan because he's still only 21 and I saw enough of him at Crewe and his Wigan Loan Spell to know that he still has "it".
Lewis Holtby- Ok this is more of a Dream, but with Hamburg looking likely for the drop in the Bundesliga I can at least trick myself into think he'd be attainable even though he wouldn't be. LET ME DREAM!
Strikers
As I've already said with regard to the Releases List while it's not been announced I think we can safely assume that Rodallega is off- that leaves us with McCormack, Woodrow, Dembele and Smith as our Strikers which to put it bluntly isn't good enough. As I said last week Dembele should be Loaned Out to see if he can actually score goals at a Senior Level, Woodrow is a good in and out player but he isn't good enough to start every week and Smith is good- but his fitness is an issue although a full Pre-Season with us would hopefully rectify that. As such I think we should be looking at one First-Team addition that would make a marked difference to the Squad.
Joe Garner- This one is entirely dependant on if PNE go up on Sunday. If PNE's Playoff record is a sign as to how they'll do on Sunday- well, see you at the County Ground next season. It'd be foolish if we didn't look at him if PNE don't go up, but it's not as if Joe Garner is a secret player and we'd have competition from numerous other teams for his signature. For me Garner, McCormack and Smith/Target Man is a Top 6 pushing Striker dynamic- especially if we end up with the situation we were in around January time when McCormack was dropping back into the #10 Role we looked completely toothless up front so getting another Striker in who can score goals for fun would be ideal.
Rudy Gestede- This one is a lot more aspirational, but at the same time if you'd have said we were going to sign Ross McCormack last summer I would have said that was ridiculously aspirational. Similar to McCormack last summer I think Gestede is a Striker who if we made an offer that Blackburn couldn't refuse we could sign. So in the case of Gestede it's simply a case of if we want to break the bank on a Striker as we did Last Summer we should look at Gestede as that option.
Emmanuel Emenike- I'm talking about him more so because I've seen the links as opposed to me actually believing we even have a hope of signing him. I'd love us to sign Emenike without a shadow of a doubt, Emenike is someone who's built to rip up the Championship he's physical enough to not be overwhelmed but also quick and a good finisher. It's for all of those reasons why I'd love for us to sign him- but also why we won't.
These are a mix of the links that I've seen and the players I want, of course this isn't a definitive list of every player we'd be interested in- and it shouldn't be seen as such; I don't have a massive scouting network with which to evaluate players far and wide.
In an ideal world with the assumption that the likes of Bryan etc. will be leaving- and at the end of the day it's personal preference this is the Squad I'd love to see come September;
GK: Bettinelli, Jaaskelainen (Joronen Loaned Out)
DEF: Darikwa, Flint/Turner, Husband, Hutchinson, Burn, Bodurov, Grimmer
MID: Christensen, Parker, Tunnicliffe, Alli, Kacaniklic, G. Williams, Jarvis, Hourihane, D'Ath, Hyndman
ATT: McCormack, Garner, Woodrow, Gestede/Smith
That's a 23 Man Squad, which could be taken up more with some Young Players being added into the mix. You'll see the lack of Patrick Roberts in that squad- and that's because as I discussed last week I'd not be looking to sell him, but I'd be open to selling him this Summer while his stock is still high- and if you want even greater detail you'll have to read last weeks Fulham post. For me a 22/23 Man Squad is ideal, in that it's not too big and bloated as has been one of our main problems over the last few years. Granted some of these are Young Players who didn't get game time but looking at the back (or rather Middle) of the Programme for the game against Boro we had a 36 Man Squad which is just too much and to me says we're wasting money.
Thanks again for reading, I know this was a long one- so if you either skim read it or read it all the way through thanks. As I've already said- this is isn't a definitive list and a lot of it's personal preference- or me perceiving what we need and there may be differing opinions so feel free to share them with me. Anyway, thanks again for reading- and have a good Bank Holiday Weekend.
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