Well this has come around quickly hasn't it? Last season feels so recent (because it was), and we're already gearing up to go again- but this time we're in the Premier League. The Season Preview is where I look at all things Fulham that have taken place in the months, or in this case month between the end of last season and the season we're on the eve of as well as looking at what I'm expecting to happen over the coming 9 Months.
A lot of the relevant discussion points are of course Transfer Window related, so in the words of Fabrizio Romano- "here we go".
The Transfer Window
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Antonee Robinson (Wigan)
I'm not really sure I have to say too much in regard to Antonee Robinson, for the simple fact that he was one of the players I had pinpointed in my Summer Window Preview just over a month ago.
As I said in the Preview, Left-Back depth would've been a "must" for us this summer regardless of what division we were in- but the added appeal of the Premier League and the finance that comes with being a Premier League team makes a world of difference in regard to who we can attract for said position. It's a well known fact that Robinson was a bargain transfer fee wise, and for me it's just very smart and very good business from Tony Khan to get the deal done when it's pretty well publicised that we weren't the only Premier League team in for Robinson.
Mario Lemina (Southampton, Loan)
This isn't an absolute slam dunk of signing. We could very well get to December/January time and hate Lemina's guts with all of the criticisms that were being levelled at Zambo and Seri last time around in the Premier League being aimed at Lemina. I'll preface the discussion over Lemina with that.
With all of that said, I'm a fan of this deal. At his best, Lemina would offer us something we haven't really had since we sold Mousa Dembele to Spurs in-terms of his ball retention and dribbling ability. The way we've structured the deal makes it relatively low risk for us as well, with the number of games and the "staying up" clauses both having to be met for the deal to automatically trigger a permanent move. Overall this is the sort of "taking a chance" transfer I can get behind, because we aren't relying on Lemina to come in and play 38 games- and if we do get "good Lemina" he'll make a difference for us without a doubt.
Harrison Reed (Southampton)
After Tony Khan's last outing in a Premier League summer window, the biggest compliment I can give this deal is that it was the most common sense transfer we could have made this summer. There isn't anything else to say, we obviously know all about Harrison Reed from his loan spell and what he brings to the table.
Alphonse Areola (PSG, Loan)
I'm quite torn on this one. On the one hand, yes Areola is a very good Keeper. However, I can't help but feel like this signing is a Tony Khan special straight out of the Andre Schurrle drawer. World Cup winner, fringe player at a Champions League club, massive wage packet, and his most comfortable position steps on the toes of one of the players key to our promotion. But at least with Sessegnon and Schurrle we could have both on the pitch at the same time.
I'm such a big fan of Rodak, and can't help but feel like the supposed wages we're paying Areola could've been better spent elsewhere. But if we get to next May and Areola's been the difference between staying up and going down I'm happy to eat my words. And it should also be said that in Areola's interview after signing he said Parker called him and said he wanted him, so you have to take that at face value.
I think when talking about potential signings over the next month, Areola's signing is also a reminder (if we needed one) of how big a factor moving to London combined with playing in the Premier League is for us and the level of player we can attract to the club as a result.
Kenny Tete (Lyon)
This one is interesting to me, for the simple fact that he was the profile of Right-Back I was looking at when I was preparing this Season Preview. A lot of the Right-Backs I saw on peoples "wish lists" were quite attack-minded, including the ones I looked at in my Summer Window Preview. The thing with that is it ignores what Parker did in the Play-Off Final where he had Odoi tucking in almost as a third Centre-Back and let Joe Bryan attack down the left as our attacking outlet. So as a result, signing a more defensive Right-Back could suit us and suit what Parker wants out of a Right-Back in the coming season.
Introducing Kenny Tete. He won't offer us much going forward, but he's a very good 1v1 defender- and he's almost definitely better suited to a team who'll be on the back foot in the majority games like ourselves because of that. Especially for the rumoured transfer fee, this is a very, very smart deal for Tony Khan to do and crucially compared to some of the signings in our last Premier League Summer Window tactically I can see exactly where he fits in.
Outs
I must say I expected a few more names to be in this section this close to the start of the season. However, there is still a month left in the window- and so much happens late on, so perhaps it isn't a surprise that this is where we currently are.
Alfie Mawson (Bristol City, Loan)
I think this is a deal where it's fair to say that it benefits all parties. As I talked about in my Summer Window Preview, Mawson was even behind Le Marchand in the pecking order at the back end of the season. So with the belief that we will be signing at least one Centre-Back this window, it's fair to say Mawson wouldn't have had much of a look in during the coming season had he stayed.
The one thing I will say is if Mawson turns around and plays 46 games for Bristol City next season then it's definitive proof that his move to us was just cursed. The thing to say about that scenario though is that if he returns from his Loan with a full season injury free under his belt then he could still turn into a useful player for us. Because I do genuinely believe behind the dodgy knee(s) that there is a good defender still in there.
Steven Sessegnon (Bristol City, Loan)
I'm genuinely curious about this one, because from what I can tell Bristol City will be playing a three-at-the-back next season. The reason I'm curious about it, is because going into last season I genuinely wanted us to play a three with Mawson as the middle Centre-Back and the debate in my mind was whether Steven Sessegnon would be better off as the Wing-Back or the Right Centre-Back rotating with Odoi in the system. So I'm just interested to see how that plays out under someone perhaps more qualified to pick a team and tactics than I am.
On a more basic level, it'll be good for Sessegnon to just get out playing. He did show promise in the early stages of the season- but the mistakes he was making, that are totally understandable given it was his first season of senior football just became too costly in the end- and the only way he can iron out those mistakes is by gaining more experience.
Marcus Bettinelli (Boro, Loan)
I'm really interested to see how this move to Middlesbrough plays out. My personal view on Bettinelli is the knee problem he was dealing with and needed surgery on has finished him as a good level Keeper. His Premier League performances were embarrassing, and you could probably make a case for saying the soft goals he conceded at the start of last season purely in-terms of points dropped (I'm specifically thinking about West Brom at Home) cost us Automatics.
With that all said, if Bettinelli can get his 17/18 form and mobility back, he's quite a smart signing for Boro- and especially at Championship level there aren't many Managers I'd back more in-terms of getting the best out of someone than Neil Warnock so I'll be watching with interest.
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Potential Transfers
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Ola Aina (Torino)
I'm a fan of this deal. While Aina's not "Fredericks fast", he'd still be the first Right-Back we've had since Fredericks with genuine pace and the ability to overlap down the right which I highlighted as a key attribute I wanted in a Right-Back signing this summer.
There's a lot of "upside" with the Aina signing. As with the Lemina deal, the Loan + Option covers us if he under performs next season- and if he does perform then it's happy days and he'll be worth the transfer fee. Add that on to the fact that Aina can play both sides comfortably, and he could probably play further up the pitch as well if Parker wanted to set up very defensively against the "big" teams (like I saw speculation of when Robinson signed in regard to Joe Bryan) given a lot of his experience in Italy has been as a proper Wing-Back.
To give an idea of how close Ola Aina is, this Preview is getting published at 6pm- and it genuinely wouldn't surprise me if we announce him at the same time. But we're now moving on to my shopping list for the rest of the window where I look at areas of the squad that I think we still need to strengthen in the rest of the window, and it will come as no surprise to any Fulham fan with a brain that there's only one place to start.
Jose Fonte (Lille)
With the exception of perhaps Areola, it's fair to say I've been quite positive about our Transfer Window so far. However, I would go as far as to say none of the signings we've made so far actually matter until we've signed a Centre-Back who can come in and partner Hector. It really is a "need" in regard to signing a Centre-Back as well. If we have Tim Ream as a starting Centre-Back in the Premier League we will go down.
Before getting on to why I want to sign a 36 Year Old Jose Fonte, I do think something has to be said. Wanting a left-sided Centre-Back isn't the same as wanting a left-footed Centre-Back. Right-Footed isn't an excluding factor in any potential Centre-Back signing to partner Hector, as long as they're comfortable playing as the left-sided Centre-Back and it wouldn't be a square peg in a round hole.
With where we are in regard to the start of the season, we need an immediate fix at Centre-Back in my opinion. For me that means we need someone who has Premier League experience in abundance, has experience of relegation battles in the Premier League and someone who'd be a genuine leader at the back. It's a very narrow field when you use that search criteria, and Jose Fonte fits the bill.
Would Fonte be absolutely ideal? No. He will undoubtedly get done for pace in some games, he won't have any resale value and we'd more than likely be his last club. But on the other hand he wouldn't command an extortionate transfer fee thanks to his age, he probably has more Premier League experience than the rest of our squad combined, he's been a Captain at clubs he's been at and he's played as a left Centre-Back quite a lot in his career. Probably most notably next to Pepe for Portugal as they won Euro 2016. In-terms of wanting someone to come in and hit the ground running, especially with our two league games after Arsenal in mind I'm not sure we can do much better. Hopefully Rui can put in a good word for us.
Victor Nelsson (Copenhagen)
This is a signing that can go two ways. We're starting the season against Arsenal with Tim Ream and Michael Hector as our Centre-Back pairing. I had mentally accepted that about 10 Days ago, and I'm braced for what's coming. With that in mind, any potential Centre-Back recruitment can go two ways. My preference as I've already said is signing an "immediate fix" Centre-Back like Jose Fonte who'll come in and instantly make an impact on the first team.
However, now we are starting the season with Ream, we could just accept that Ream and Hector is going to be our pairing early doors and sign more of a "prospect" who can grow into the role over time because Victor Nelsson would undoubtedly be an upgrade on Tim Ream- but he'd need to acclimate to the league first. Nelsson's only 21, he's Denmark U21s captain and he's actually been playing as a left Centre-Back partnering Ragnar Sigurdsson of all people at Copenhagen for a decent amount of the previous season.
Or we could just sign both. Especially with Mawson going, I think we'll be in the market for two Centre-Backs this window- so signing one "immediate fix" and one "prospect" neither of whom would be ridiculously priced would be my ideal window and Nelsson would be the long-term successor to Jose Fonte in the left Centre-Back role.
Emi Buendia (Norwich)
I feel like there's (rightly) been a lot of discussion in regard to our defence, and concern over how our defence will cope with the step up. However, I would argue that our attack is just as much of a concern- just because giving the ball to Mitrovic and hoping like it seemed our tactics were for a decent amount of last season won't be enough to keep us up.
The only reason I didn't highlight Buendia in my Summer Window Preview is for the simple fact that I thought he'd be a bit beyond us and go "higher". But here we are, with the Championship season starting tomorrow, and Buendia's still a Norwich player.
Most people will be fully aware of Buendia, specifically because of the number of chances he created for a very poor Norwich team in the Premier League last season- and it's for that reason that I'm keen on him because he'd add some genuine creativity that none of our current players really offer in my opinion. The rumoured transfer fee for Buendia isn't extortionate either, especially compared to some of the fees we're seeing for players like Ollie Watkins.
Victor Moses (Chelsea)
You could be forgiven for forgetting that Moses is in fact naturally a Right-Winger given he's spent a decent amount of the last 4 or 5 years playing as a Right Wing-Back under Antonio Conte, and we supposedly even tried to sign Moses for that role under Ranieri in our January window in the Premier League.
It's that experience that makes Moses quite an appealing option to me though, because we'll be on the back foot in quite a few games next season and need our Wingers to chip in defensively. Moses still has something to offer going forward as well though, and for me he'd be a definite upgrade on the Wingers we currently have.
Add that on to the fact that he obviously knows the league and with Chelsea spending more this summer on players than the GDP of most countries surely making him surplus to requirements, combined with the fact that he's going into the last year of his contract Moses is probably available for a very affordable transfer fee. So overall Moses would be quite an appealing option in my opinion.
Florinel Coman (FCSB)
My personal preference when talking about potential Forwards is we sign one "proper" Winger like Emi Buendia or Victor Moses, and then we also sign someone who can play up-front or on the Wing to cover us for any Aleksandar Mitrovic related absences whether it be because of injury, yellow card accumulation or Mitrovic's new best friend VAR. Bonus points if they're a prospect who we can sign, increase in value and then sell on for a profit.
Enter Florinel Coman. Romanian football at least on paper is in for a bit of resurgence over the next 4 or 5 years, largely thanks to three quite familiar names to the world of Football in Puscas, Hagi and Coman. I really liked the look of Coman at the U21 Euros last summer where he scored twice against England perhaps most notably- and after having a strong season with FCSB (don't call them Steaua Bucharest) he's seemingly ready for a move to a Top 5 European League. Maybe not as a starter right off the bat, but he definitely has the ability and potential to cement himself if given time to develop.
Andre Ayew (Swansea)
In perhaps a theme of this section of the Preview, Coman would be the "prospect" and Andre Ayew on the other hand would be the "immediate fix". It's seemingly a policy of ours this summer to really minimise outlay in-terms of transfer fees and directing more of our finances to the wage bill. Ayew would definitely be a signing in that mould, given Swansea surely can't afford to keep paying his wages for another season.
I personally see a lot of value in Ayew, despite his age. Primarily, he's a really good player, he had more goal contributions in the season just gone than any player we currently have bar Mitrovic by quite a distance. Add on to the fact that he's played as a Striker a reasonable number of times, including for part of last season with Swansea, he's got Premier League experience that we definitely seem to value when looking at players to sign, and he's also shown in the season just gone that he's happy to get his head down and fight for promotion in the Championship if we do get relegated in the coming season.
Two Centre-Backs, a Winger and potentially a Winger who can play up-front as a bonus signing. That's what I want out of the rest of the window, and when you consider there's pretty much a month left of the window (even longer for domestic signings)- that isn't really that much to do for Tony Khan and the recruitment team. If we prioritise a Centre-Back, and then get to work on the rest I'm more than fine with that- because as I've already said it doesn't matter who we sign if we still have Tim Ream starting at Centre-Back.
Outs
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa
I said in my Summer Window Preview that my personal feeling was that unless Villarreal could afford to trigger the option to buy they had, Zambo would end up staying in the coming season. Obviously with a month left in the window you can't say with 100% conviction that he's staying unless he signs a new contract that I don't think would be on the table, but all of the signs are definitely pointing to Zambo being a Fulham player for the coming season.
That's quite exciting for me and I do really rate Zambo. Although I do think we have to temper our expectations slightly, because the way he's being built up by some people on social media as this sort of Prime Yaya Toure box-to-box Midfielder who'll come in and own the league is a massive exaggeration. It's one thing for Zambo to perform well for Villarreal who came 5th in La Liga and had players playing well around him, it's another thing entirely to consistently perform well in a team that's playing badly and is aiming for 17th come May. As I said in relation to Zambo potentially moving a month ago, time will tell.
Jean-Michael Seri
Seri still being a Fulham player at this stage of the window is annoying to me, but it isn't surprising. I didn't really "get" the Galatasaray move when it happened on Seri's end, and on our end fair enough we probably got a decent loan fee for him, but we would have surely known going in that Galatasaray wouldn't have been able to afford the option to buy on him when they along with the two other "traditional" Turkish clubs Fenerbahce and Besiktas are for want of a better way to put it, bankrupt. It would be one thing if it was a last minute Deadline Day thing, but Seri joined Galatasaray in Mid-July from memory, and there was definitely a market there for us to sell him outright based on some reports.
As a result we still have Seri, and his wages, on the books going into the new season. And it wouldn't surprise me if we needed Seri to go before we could move for someone who Parker will actually want. I thought things were lined up for us to sign Babel and Seri to go the other way, but that ship has seemingly sailed and we're left trying to find a move for him that suits us as well as him.
Stefan Johansen
Before yesterday, it seemed like Galatasaray had potentially moved from one out of favour box-to-box Midfielder to another with them also being linked with Johansen. However I think that talk will die down now, as Galatasaray have signed Peter Etebo on Loan who coincidentally I highlighted in my Summer Window Preview as someone I wanted to sign as a squad option.
I do still think Johansen's going this summer though, as I said in my Summer Window Preview he had fallen out of favour in the Championship, and now we're in the Premier League with Zambo and Lemina both ahead of him in his most "natural" position I don't see that changing. And especially with Norway potentially going to the Euros next summer if they get through their Play-Off, as Norway captain Johansen isn't going to want to spend next season on the Bench, or more likely now we're back to 7 subs in the stand.
Cyrus Christie
I wonder if things are possibly lining up for Cyrus Christie at the moment. We bring in one new Right-Back, with another imminent, just as his former club Derby sell Jayden Bogle. It's probably fair to say that Christie sees himself as more than being a 3rd or 4th choice Right-Back depending on if you see Denis Odoi ahead of him or not.
In a way I'm happy Christie's leaving this summer, if he does, after giving a better account of himself in the eyes of the fans than the car crash of a Premier League season. There's surely a market for Christie as well, he's going into the last year of his contract making him pretty affordable and he is a solid Top 6-Top 10 Championship level Right-Back.
Fabri
If reports are to be believed Fabri's on the verge of moving, but he was definitely training with the club as of Wednesday, so it would seem like things aren't as close as had been reported. My opinion on Fabri hasn't changed over the last year or so, in the sense that I do think Fabri got a pretty raw deal with us. I suppose one thing with Football currently being Behind Closed Doors is at least with Areola there won't be fans chanting for Rodak (Bettinelli) if he lets in a soft goal on his debut.
Saying Fabri was set up to fail is probably going too far, but he was signed on the recommendation of a Goalkeeping Coach who almost instantly left the club after his arrival, he was replacing a fan favourite, and perhaps most importantly he was without exaggeration behind one of the worst defences in Premier League history.
Fabri's definitely better than being a 3rd choice Keeper for us, and I do genuinely hope he finds a club where he'll play every week and he can get his career back on track.
Kevin McDonald
After signing Reed and Lemina, a report came out saying that we were listening to offers for McDonald and Johansen. I'm not sure if there was something substantial to that, or it was just the media putting two and two together. I'll repeat what I said in my Summer Window Preview, if McDonald wants to play Football next season his only outing before 2021 could well be at Portman Road in just under a week- so a loan would be his best chance of playing Football.
However, he's without a doubt the biggest leader in the dressing room, and when talking about keeping the dressing room atmosphere up McDonald would be key to that in my opinion. So if he was happy to stay knowing that would be his role at the club while he does his Coaching Badges I'd be perfectly fine with that.
It's also worth saying that McDonald potentially going is another reason why I highlighted Jose Fonte as a potential signing, because we need genuine leaders in the dressing room when things get tough during the season and Fonte would fill those boots. Quite literally if you look at what Fonte's preferred Kit Number has been over his career.
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Scott Parker's new contract
It's definitely worth talking about Scott Parker's new contract, because I think it's an indicator that unless we're on course to break Derby's points record we're sticking with Parker regardless next season. It could be me reading too much into things, but Parker's original deal covering our two years of Parachute Payments and his new one covering a season in the Premier League and then potentially two Parachute Payment years isn't a coincidence for me.
Especially now Parker's proven definitively he can get us promoted, I think we'll want some long-term continuity this time around in contrast to the Khans last two Premier League outings where we've had three Managers both times. Even if it means taking the hit and going down like Burnley have done previously with Sean Dyche, and Norwich's plan seemingly is with Daniel Farke. That logic would also tie in with our seeming reluctance to spend big so far this summer, at least in-terms of transfer fees.
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New Kit Reaction
I'm a massive fan of our Home Kit. Conditioned on the fact that it is an Adidas Template, of the options we had available to us, when I was looking at other Adidas Kits for the new season the one I wanted was Wolves' kit with the black sleeves to coincide with it being 10 Years since we got to the Europa League Final in a similar kit- and here we are. The Yellow Away Kit isn't going to be top of my shopping list it's fair to say, but as I always say in regard to betting sponsors in this section, as long as the team wearing it are winning Football matches I couldn't care less.
I've already mentioned betting sponsors, so I'll talk about us getting a new one here. Pretty much half the league has a betting sponsor, and bar the Top 6 who have genuine "appeal" to big brands, betting sponsors are the most lucrative option to Premier League clubs until the government or the FA ban them. As I've said already, if the team wearing the shirt is winning Football matches I don't care what's on it. Let Tony Khan put an AEW logo on the Sleeve for all I care.
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The Season Ahead
We know this season is going to be a slog. We're in a Mini-League with in my opinion Villa, Brighton, Burnley, Leeds, Newcastle, West Brom, West Ham and potentially Sheffield Utd where three of us go down at the end of it. My personal opinion at the moment is we won't be better than three of those teams over the course of a season, especially with such a glaring hole in the team as of now at Centre-Back that needs to be filled before we can even start talking about staying up with a straight face.
I do think tactically we're better suited to being in the Premier League this time around, but frankly I just don't think we'll have enough quality over 38 games. As I've already said though, I think Parker's secure in his job almost completely regardless of what happens this coming season- and if he does keep us up then fair play to him.
I said in my Season Preview last year that with the quality we had in the squad, Parker might not get that much credit for actually getting us up- the shoe is definitely on the other foot going into this season, because Parker is going to have to play an absolute blinder and use every ounce of his managerial ability if he is going to keep us up.
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Predictions
I posted my Premier League prediction on Twitter, and seeing as we feature it's worth repeating.
I've predicted;
18th. West Ham
19th. Fulham
20th. West Brom
It should be said that making a Table prediction with a month left of the Transfer Window makes the prediction pretty redundant, but this prediction is based on how things look at the moment.
There's so much unknown going into this season, both on and off the pitch in the current climate that I'm approaching it with quite a lot of interest. As I've already said, I do believe we're better placed tactically and with the team we have to give a better account of ourselves this time around in the Premier League- and really that's my main/only hope for the coming season. Thanks for reading as always, I still really enjoy doing these- specifically the Transfers and "Scouting" aspect of it- so hopefully you still enjoy reading them. Thanks again for reading, hopefully you're staying safe, hopefully we can get back to the Cottage sooner rather than later and hopefully we can make this season a good one.
