Fulham: Transfer Window Review (So Far)

Hello! It's been way too long, but the Fulham posts are officially back as of this moment all the way through until next May. The thing you definitely have to say with the Confirmed and Rumoured transfers both in and out of the Club is the journey between now and next May is definitely going to be an interesting one.

We're in a very strange situation at the moment with our Transfers and in terms of how our squad looks because of said transfers because there are some areas where we're pretty much set and others where we're light to the point it's almost stupid. Anyway this is probably going to be a long one so I'll keep the aimless rambling to a minimal. I'm going to look at the Confirmed Ins and Outs as well as the Potential Ins and Outs that could still be on the cards and the chances of said transfer happening, and if the transfer would actually benefit the squad.

Confirmed Transfers
Ins
Andy Lonergan- This is an interesting one, and could prove to be a really good bit of business for us. Any signing when the player comes in on a Free unless they're on huge wages (which I doubt Lonergan is) is a very low risk one provided they've got a proven track record at whatever level (or a higher level) they're signing at as Lonergan does. In my Summer Window preview all the way back in May I was speaking about Ali Al-Habsi and Jaaskelainen both for that reason- but without knowing for definite I'd assume Lonergan's come in much cheaper than the two options I put forward and he definitely has the ability to challenge Bettinelli or take over as the #1 if needed (more later).

Ben Pringle- For the same reasons already discussed I'm a huge fan of this transfer, and from the Pre-Season games we've seen so far Pringle is already looking like a very capable player for us. While Pre-Season performances aren't a guarantee of "proper" season success, things like the crosses Pringle's been putting in throughout Pre-Season are just an ability thing and it's definitely something we need after last-season where we only had a handful of people who it seemed actually knew how to cross a ball. The Left-Wing spot is a great area for us heading into the season assuming we've laid the Narrow Diamond to rest with Pringle and Kacaniklic fighting it out over that position and similar to the Bettinelli and Lonergan dynamic both players are extremely capable of stepping up. As I'll discuss in a bit Kacaniklic may have another role to fill this season, but the fact Pringle can play multiple roles as well just makes this a great piece of business.

Tom Cairney- As of right now Cairney is our "marquee" signing, and it's just a great bit of business on our part. Creativity is something we just simply lacked massively last season, and as it was pointed out at the time between Pringle, Cairney and O'Hara we've signed Three of the Top Ten chance creators from last season. The Midfield was simply not good enough last season, and as a result we ended up playing McCormack out of position for most of the season AND HE STILL SCORED 19 GOALS! So the fact we're signing players capable of creating chances in the Midfield for McCormack as well as others gives me a lot of hope for us as an attacking threat this season.

The one thing that I don't know if it's annoying me or just something that I'm resigned to- but the way we're shaping up this season it's looking likely we're either going to play Kacaniklic as the Right-Sided Midfielder which renders him pretty much null and void, which would be a huge shame because Kacaniklic down the Left has looked great this Pre-Season. Or we're going to find ourselves in the position of playing our "marquee" signing of the Summer out of his best position, Sound Familiar?

Jazz Richards- The reaction to this one was definitely more mixed in comparison to the majority of the other transfers we've had this Summer, and I do understand it to an extent. Richards wasn't exactly a shining light when he came in, I'm not going to dispute that- but the fact he came in pretty much directly corresponded with the majority of our team forgetting how to play Football didn't help his settling in process. That combined with the fact we had very little protection for either Full-Back last season means I'm definitely willing to give Jazz Richards a go this season- and in the right system with a Right-Sided Midfielder in front of him I think Richards could turn out to be a great piece of business.

Jamie O'Hara- O'Hara is a strange one, going into the Summer I wouldn't have said "I want Jamie O'Hara" but now we've got him I'm pretty optimistic. O'Hara is definitely going to be a Squad Player, I don't think anyone's disputing that- but from what we've seen from him so far in a Fulham shirt he's definitely looked quite impressive and in a "window closed this minute" scenario I'd have O'Hara lining up next to Christensen against Cardiff. O'Hara isn't going to be everyone's favourite player, but he's 28 and on a 1 Year Deal- we haven't taken a massive risk with signing him and he can definitely be a useful player for us.

Luke Garbutt (Loan)- Our Most Recent signing, and one that's really excited me. We've been light a good Left-Back pretty much since we sold Konchesky, and while there's never a guarantee of success this is the first time since we sold Konchesky that I've seen us sign a Left-Back and actually be excited by it. I don't think Garbutt is by any means the finished article, if he was Everton wouldn't have loaned him to us in the first place but from the limited number of times I've seen him in the Europa League and in the Premier League he definitely looks like a quality player and a top draw signing for us. He definitely needs work from a Defensive Point of View, but with the right Centre-Back next to him and covering that becomes almost a non-issue and he can flourish going forward.

Outs
We've had a handful of Youth Releases that aren't really worth getting into, so for the sake of this I'll only cover the players who have actually played in the first team at some point last season.

Hugo Rodallega- This is a release I'm sure we all saw coming, in terms of all the players we released/let their contracts run down Rodallega was the one who could have contributed the most this upcoming season without a doubt. Hugo was such a hot and cold player for us it was stupid and in Hugo's case the money he was on simply wasn't good value for us and the 2 Months he would perform well in.

Tim Hoogland- You'll know my thoughts on Hoogland when it comes to what position he should have been played in last season if you were reading my Previews/Reviews for pretty much the whole second half of the season. That said in the roles Kit was intent on playing him in he simply wasn't good enough for us and with his age surely playing a factor it was definitely not a shock to see him go.

Gabor Kiraly- RIP Tracksuit Bottoms.

Chris David- Chris David like someone who'll be discussed in a bit was a strange one in that a lot of people would argue he should have been used more last season- and there's others (like me) who'd argue that they were a lot more style than substance and especially with his rumoured attitude problems I'm happy we're seeing the back of him. I don't question the fact he had ability- but there's a stupid number of people with perceived ability that simply aren't able to make the grade.

Adil Chihi- With the exception of Kay Voser (who it appears Kit actually does see some value in) this release was the last one of "his" brainwave signings that were a combination of stupid and just not good enough to even be a squad player for us right off the bat.

Maarten Stekelenburg (Loan)- This was a strange one, my initial reaction was just a groan and asking why we hadn't just sold him. But considering his wages I think we were just happy to get them off of our books in any capacity. It's definitely going be interesting how he performs at Southampton for the first half of the season (give or take) when he has a proper run in the team with a pretty solid defence in front of him- both of which he never had for us for a variety of reasons. I'm not saying he's going to be amazing for them, but for those of you doing Fantasy Football this season he could be a pretty decent shout up until January.

Bryan Ruiz- This transfer was one we all saw coming, but I couldn't help but get a little sad that we finally had seen the end of Bryan in a Fulham shirt. While he was definitely not everyone's cup of tea for his whole tenure at the Club there were certain points last season where we definitely saw the best of him in a Fulham shirt and it was a joy to watch. That said if he hadn't have left this Summer I think there'd be an agent found in a ditch somewhere in Costa Rica, so it was best for everyone that he finally moved on.

Patrick Roberts- By far our biggest sale of the Summer, both in terms of Fee and Profile as well as general mixed reactions. I said all the way back in May that if we got 10mill for Roberts I'd sell him without a shadow of a doubt I believe my exact words were- and I stand by that now that it's happened. Roberts has the potential to be a great player I don't dispute that- if for some reason there are some City Fans reading this I'm not saying you've got a dud. However he played nearly two dozen games in some capacity last season and other than a few things that would look good in a YouTube compilation his only tangible contribution was winning a Penalty when we were already 3-0 up against Sheffield Wednesday. So if there was any such thing as a Win/Win/Win transfer this was it- we got a pretty good fee for an unproven (at Senior level) player, Roberts got the move he clearly wanted and City got their player and with the rumoured add-on structure there is if he succeeds at City then he'll pretty much pay for himself- and if he doesn't a 5-6million outlay for a club like Man City is a drop in the ocean anyway.

Ryan Williams- Our latest bit of business at the time of writing this. I don't know how to feel about this one in all honesty, what I saw from Williams last season I liked but he played a minimal amount of games for us so I don't think it would shock many or hit the team hard now he has gone.

At this stage on July 26th 2015 I'm pretty much over the moon with how this Transfer Window has gone in terms of confirmed transfers. We've strengthened a number of areas we were weak in last season and gotten some of our highest earners off the books as well as some sizeable fees with which we will (hopefully) reinvest into the club. That said there's still some areas we definitely need strengthening and while we still have a reasonable amount of time with which to address those areas as every day passes you do start to get a little more worried.

Possible Transfers
Ins
Lewis Dunk- It's funny I spoke about Dunk back in May when the initial rumours about him first surfaced and I can pretty much Copy & Paste what I said in that post into here and it still be relevant

"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."

I stand by everything I said in this. It's especially relevant now we've had a rumoured 4million bid rejected it's getting to an almost ridiculous point. We're in desperate need of at least one Centre-Back and other clubs know that, which just naturally drives the price up of any Centre-Back we're after. I hate to praise Brentford, but in Bjelland they've gotten a top-draw Centre-Back for around 2million off the Continent and we should be looking in that direction in my opinion. For me we should do one more take it or leave it at 5million and then if it isn't accepted we just move on, because however good Dunk is- for 5million we can get an equally good player if not better to fulfil the same role.

Eric Botteghin- Speaking of better value from the Continent, in comes Botteghin. I don't claim to have watched Groningen every week- but going off what I've seen both in terms of reaction when the rumour came out and from his Statistics (which seem to be our driving force when it comes to incomings this window) he'd be a top quality player for us. The rumours have died down now so it might be a non-runner now, but he's definitely a name that should be discussed and hopefully if we give up on Dunk seriously pursued. I was speaking a bit about Brentford earlier, and another name I saw being banded around was James Tarkowski- I personally can't see it and as with the Bidwell and Diagouraga links at various points this summer it's just to get the fans talking.

We're at least One Centre-Back away from being contenders to be in the mix for the Top 6 and at the very least Top 10, I would argue two because none of our current Centre-Backs are good enough to be starting against Cardiff, but with a better partner perhaps any of the three we currently have would look better.

Kevin McDonald- McDonald is a strange one, I'd love for us to sign him and with the rumours that have come out over the last month or so it seems like we are interested. That said I think similar to the Matt Ritchie links in January we're just being used as a means to an end with regard to the player in this case McDonald using our interest to get a new contract at a much higher offer than was presumably on the table before we were interested. That's not necessarily to say us signing McDonald is an impossibility if Wolves don't bite when it comes to said Contract Offer and as of writing this the latest news was the Contract Talks had stalled between the two- but I get the feeling McDonald (or rather McDonald's Agent) is playing the game at the moment.

Adrien Trebel- The word "consistent" is seemingly the word that best describes Trebel judging from the reaction when the link came out that we were interested. With some of the rumoured teams interested in him it would definitely be a coup for us if we were to get him. While another Central Midfielder is by no means top of the priority list if we have the opportunity to sign someone like Trebel we might as well take it. With Cairney possibly being shipped out to the Right-Mid spot (and no links as far as I can tell for a Right-Mid) it all comes down to the Formation we're going to play- and if said Formation could accommodate Trebel as well as Cairney and Christensen without being unbalanced then I'd be all for it.

As far as actual links these are the only one's I'm aware of at present. Now we've gotten Garbutt in it really is just Centre-Back that we're in desperate need of heading into the season- any other signings are a bonus. That position could change depending on who leaves between now and September, we could definitely use a Right-Mid but as already spoken about that doesn't seem likely at this stage. All of this could of course change between now and September and our needs may change depending on who goes between now and September, so without further ado...

Outs
Marcus Bettinelli- I'm still convinced that I started this rumour back in April after the Rotherham game. If you have the time and can be bothered search "Bettinelli Chelsea" on Twitter and the first mention is from me, but I may have just picked up on something that was already in play. I'm not saying there's no chance we're going to sell Bettinelli- because that would be a lie, the fact is with 1 Year left on his Deal and no guarantee he's going to re-sign if we're offered the right deal we might end up taking it. However I would hope Bettinelli is smart enough and has the right people surrounding him to know at this stage going to Chelsea would either mean going to Vitesse Arnhem or fighting it out for 3rd Choice with Blackman and Delac neither of which would be ideal for his development.

Fernando Amorebieta- From what I can work out there haven't been any links with him as of yet, but given he's on his Holiday at this stage (although I think I saw a tweet where he said he was in London, so he's possibly joining up tomorrow) as far as I can work out after the Copa America (where he did his best to completely shaft Venezuela) and that may have played a factor. Amorebieta isn't someone we can in any way rely on, but if he does end up staying and the window closed tomorrow I'd be starting him over the 3 main Centre-Backs we have once he's back and sharp which presumably won't be in time for Cardiff so chances are not until the End of August or after the September International Break.

Thomas Eisfeld- Eisfeld's such a shame, at the time we signed him I spoke to a few Arsenal supporting friends and they really rated him. However for whatever reason it just didn't work out for him here and with the links with him going back to VfL Bochum permanently it may well be the end of Eisfeld's uneventful and disappointing Fulham run.

Scott Parker- For the record I can't see the rumoured Bournemouth interest coming to anything, and again it's just the Papers seeing a vague link in this case Parker's relation to Harry Arter and just deciding to make a story out of it. I wouldn't be against getting rid of him, because Parker isn't a 46 Game a Season player- but if we use him right as he showed against Derby he can be still be a valuable asset to us, and with the number of Midfield Options we have I think we're definitely taking a step in that direction.

Moussa Dembele- This has been a strange link, because I personally don't think we saw nearly enough from Dembele last season for him to be meriting the interest of seemingly half of Serie A and Everton among a few other teams I'm sure I've missed. However I do hope Dembele stays because he had a quality showing against Derby and then just vanished- and as I'll discuss with the next player in this section he's definitely a valuable player to have in terms of our overall Striker dynamic in my opinion.

Kostas Mitroglou- If you'd have told me we would nearly be in August and there would be a chance Mitroglou might end up in a Fulham shirt I would have had you sectioned. But here we are, I'll preface this by saying I see it as pretty much impossible that Mitroglou lines up for us this season- however he could be such a quality player for us if he were to stay. Just the idea of Mitroglou and McCormack lining up next to each other get's me excited, that would without a doubt be the best Strike Partnership in the League- and as previously said with the players behind without a doubt being capable of creating opportunities for that Strike Partnership we could be a real force if he were to stay.

I've seen a lot of people reacting to the teams we've been playing while in Austria and saying that this means Mitroglou isn't going to stay, like I've repeatedly said I don't think he will- however he's only had two weeks Training with us. Mitroglou missed all of the Strong-Man stuff we did as well as the majority of the Pre-Season training we've done at this stage. If he's still here next Saturday I'll definitely be more expectant when it comes to Mitroglou's involvement but for now I'm not in a desperate need to see him in the team and I understand why he isn't near the team yet.

A Striker Dynamic of McCormack, Mitroglou, Dembele, Woodrow and Smith as a Five with Adam Taggart as another option we're pretty much set. However like I said it's still pretty much impossible that Mitroglou plays for us this season- but then again last Summer I was saying the same about Ruiz.

Again these are all of the links that I've seen, but chances are I will have missed a few so feel free to give me a shout and tell me the ones that I've missed.

This Summer has been pretty much the antithesis of last year in that the players we've signed have been few and far between and the ones we have are proven in some capacity at either this level or a higher one and crucially you can see how all of the signings will fit into the team dynamic and be useful. However as I've said repeatedly just because up to this point we've had in my opinion a pretty good Summer it shouldn't mean we sit back and relax because there's areas we're still in desperate need of strengthening between now and when we head down to Cardiff.

I made my opinions when it comes to Kit clear for all to see at the back end of the season, and I still have doubts over Kit's ability. That said Pre-Season has looked promising and we've been playing some really good stuff so I'm willing to put my feelings on ice when it comes to Kit and fully back him for the time being, and I just hope he gives me no reason to revisit them.

Thanks for reading, I'm not sure how much crossover there is (if any) between my two topics- so I just work on the basis of it being a completely different audience. That said these Fulham Posts are back and they're here to stay, I'm sure there'll be weird points in the Season when it comes to being able to write them (I'll try and avoid Glass Tables this Season) but hopefully I can cover all of the games in some capacity this season as well as a few "bonus" one's at varied point. Thanks again for reading, and let's just hope we see a much better season than the last. Let's face it, it can't get any worse- can it?