Fulham: 26/27 Summer Window Preview

Well, here we are again. I think my main sentiment coming out of this season is just "thank god that's over". It's really felt like a slog over the last few months especially, and I'm at a point now where I'm just ready for a break. I always like to do a review of sorts of the season before I go into the transfer talk, and this season is definitely one of the harder ones for me to really sum my feelings up on since I started doing these previews. Objectively, I don't think you can call it a bad season for us. Especially around October/November time if you had told pretty much anyone we'd be as comfortable as we have been- I think you'd take it. I vividly remember walking out of Everton's new stadium thinking we were really in trouble. In fact, if you look at what I said in last years preview- we actually did a lot of what I was saying we should do this season. We even signed Kevin. 

With that said, as it did last season, you can't help but feel like we've left something on the table. I'm not entertaining the train of thought that boils it down to "if we beat Wolves we would have got Europe", because Football doesn't really work like that- and if we had to play the Newcastle game with pressure on then it would have probably been a different outcome. However, when you look at the bigger picture, and you see the teams that did qualify for Europe this season- you can't help but feel like it's a missed opportunity. The two teams we got promoted with, and were objectively better than at the time, have now both qualified for Europe- and newly promoted Sunderland have managed to leapfrog us and qualify for the Europa League at the first time of asking and that should sting. 

But here we are, and we're going into probably our biggest summer in recent memory. There's so many different things that we need to sort out this summer, and if we make too many wrong decisions it could all go downhill very quickly. This feeds into the "philosophy" I'd be approaching the transfer window with as well. We need to make decisions, and make them decisively. This isn't a summer to mess around and leave everything until the last minute, we need to sort out our manager situation as soon as humanly possible so we can start planning properly for next season- and the same goes for signings. We need to break the habit of a lifetime this summer if we want to give any prospective new manager a fighting chance of succeeding next summer. If, for instance, we do what we did last summer then I'm not even going to get on the new managers back- because they'll have been set up to fail by the decision makers above him. 

With that in mind, one of my big priorities when looking for players this summer has been to try and avoid players who are World Cup bound. In my opinion at least, we need to try and have as many players as possible at Motspur Park on Day 1 of Pre-Season so the new manager can start getting his ideas and philosophy over to the players. Beyond timing of signings, a big thing that we have to look at this summer is, well, big-ness. It's fair to say it's not been a vintage Premier League season, there will be very few teams and fanbases who look back on this one fondly- and a large part of that has been the shift to being a very physical, set-piece based league. I don't think anyone really enjoys it, unless you're Arsenal fans, but that's the league we're in- and it's a set of circumstances we're going to have to adapt to if we want to continue to be in it. 

I should say I haven't tried to find someone with a Michael Kayode-esque long throw, from my perspective at least I don't think there's much point. It's pretty much impossible to do long throws successfully at the Cottage with how tight the pitch is and the little ramp up, so when you're only looking at it potentially being useful in 50% of your games I don't think it's a big factor for us. What I have put a big emphasis on though is size, physicality and aerial ability with set pieces in mind as you'll find out as this preview progresses. 

The other part of my philosophy for this transfer window is just my view that this club and squad needs a big refresh and reset. Silva's inevitable departure helps this thinking, in the sense that it feels like it would be a good time to do it, but even if Silva did somehow stay this squad needs a big, big overhaul if we want to keep being competitive. Right now there isn't a single aspect of our play that I'm happy with. On a basic level we don't score enough and we concede too many. Factoring in the players we already know we're losing, and then the players who to be blunt I'd be quite happy to lose- we're looking at needing to recruit a very significant amount of players- which will cost a very significant amount of money.

As always with these blogs, I'm not expecting us to sign everyone on this list and this list is more of a shortlist of players I'd be looking to sign from- and I'm not necessarily expecting us to sign these exact names (although they would be welcome) and it's more looking at a profile of player I'd want to target this summer. It's a massive summer, and there's a lot to get through, so let's get going. 

Ins
Goalkeeper
We need to talk about Bernd Leno. I don't think I'm as down on Leno as I think some in the fanbase are after this season, in the sense that I think some people would want Leno to leave this summer and think he's completely finished at a top level. I still think Leno is a decent Premier League Goalkeeper. In a way, the problem for Leno is that he's set such a high bar for himself over his time at the club. And as a result, when he has a season like he has, alarm bells start ringing. 

That's not to say I'm happy with our current options though. Leno has one year left on his current contract, albeit with a one year option, and I do think we need to start looking for a long-term successor. Beyond Leno, I think Lecomte has done the job he was signed to do. He's a solid enough "cup keeper" who can save penalties, as he demonstrated against Wycombe. However, if Leno gets injured, especially in this current Premier League "era" where set-pieces and physicality seem to be the order of the day, I'd be absolutely terrified if we had Lecomte in goal when we have to play Arsenal or Everton for example. So when you consider that, and also just Leno's form seemingly trending downwards, I think we need to look at signing a new Keeper who can as an absolute minimum compete with Leno for the #1 spot next season.

Radek Vitek (Man Utd)
There's quite a few things I've had to consider in my search for a new Goalkeeper, as I've already made reference to though, size and command of the box at set pieces has to be near the top of any list this summer. As boring as this Premier League season's been in my opinion, as a club our size, you need to adapt to your circumstances. You'll notice a bit of a theme for this years preview in-terms of wanting more size and more physicality and Goalkeeper is arguably the biggest example of needing it.

Enter 6'6 Radek Vitek who has had an absolutely phenomenal season on loan at Bristol City, where he was very briefly managed by Roy Hodgson of all people at the end of the season. I watch a lot of the Championship, and while another loanee in Carl Rushworth at Coventry rightly got most of the plaudits this season- for me Radek Vitek was genuinely the best Keeper in the Championship. Especially when I think of it in-terms of having form translating over to the Premier League, Vitek as a keeper in a team who weren't a "dominant force" feels like he'd be very suited to a team like Fulham and I think we can give him a good platform to kick on after his successful loan spell. 

The challenge with Vitek would presumably be whether he'd be happy to join and initially sit on the bench after a season where he's played as much as he has. Especially because I would imagine most of the Championship would be wanting Vitek on loan again next season as an instant starter. I don't think Leno gets instantly dropped for next season. However, as I've already made reference to, Leno's trajectory is definitely trending downwards- and I think outsiders can also see that. Combine that with Leno's age and also Man Utd's signing of Senne Lammens probably killing any chance Vitek had of "making it" at Utd, provided it was "pitched right" to Vitek, I think he would (rightly) see it as a very good route into being the #1 Keeper for what has been a stable Premier League club over the last few years. To put it simply, Leno would start the season, but I'd be very surprised if Vitek didn't finish it. 

Kayne van Oevelen (FC Volendam)
Our first trip overseas now, and a lot of what I've said in relation to Vitek also applies to van Oevelen. He has the size and the physicality that should stand him in good stead for the "challenges" that are presented to Goalkeepers in the Premier League right now. In simple terms, van Oevelen is the only reason Volendam even had a chance of staying up in the Eredivisie this season, after being one of the big reasons they were promoted the season prior. I'd be lying if I said I was a Volendam ultra, but I'd be incredibly surprised if he wasn't their Player of the Season- and the fact he missed their relegation playoff against Willem II through injury which they ended up losing only further highlights that point. 

He's not the finished article by any means, but I wouldn't expect a 22 year old keeper with one proper year of top division Football under his belt to be. What I do see is so much potential, and with a year of bedding in, potentially two depending on if we activate Leno's option, I do genuinely believe van Oevelen can be a very good Premier League level goalkeeper. 

Rui Araki (Gamba Osaka) 
In last years preview I recommended Japanese based Centre-Back Kota Takai who went on to sign for Spurs, with a large part of the recommendation coming as a result of him having an incredible game against Al Nassr against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo. So here we are one year later, and I'm recommending someone Japanese based largely as a result of them having an incredible game against Al Nassr against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo. 

For those of you who may not be followers of the Asian equivalent of the Europa League (the horror), Gamba Osaka beat Al Nassr 1-0 in the final of the tournament in basically an away game as the Asian Champions League and "Champions League 2" final stages are hosted in Saudi Arabia. Regardless of 'level' an 18 year old cementing themselves as the first choice Goalkeeper for any club is impressive. And for that keeper to then go on and deliver a Man of the Match performance in the circumstances I've mentioned to win a major trophy is even more impressive. It's not just the one game though, Araki was Japan's keeper when they won the U23 Asian Cup at the start of the year with Araki being named the best Goalkeeper at the tournament- and as I made a point of doing last year, I really want us to start scouting these tournaments to unearth potential gems. 

As is the case with van Oevelen, he'd need at least one season to bed in. But I think that's time we can afford to give because like I've said already, I don't think we're at a point with Leno where we need to look for an instant replacement for next season- and the potential upside with Araki (or van Oevelen) is huge, especially at what I'd be certain to be a very reasonable price.

Defenders 
The defence is where the proper "reset" I've talked about really starts. Whether it's structure, lapses of concentration or just general lack of quality, there's very few teams in the league who I'd back less to keep a clean sheet. And when you combine that with the sort of goalscoring run we've ended the season with, it becomes very hard to win football matches. I'm going to go into potential outgoings later on, but for now let's just say if it was up to me there's definitely places up for grabs in the backline next season. And of course we don't even know what system whoever we have in charge next season will want to play, so from my perspective I've tried to cover bases and have players who would suit a 4 and 5 at the back. 

Ismaelo Ganiou (Lens)
In-terms of realistic(ish) dream signings, Ismaelo Ganiou along with someone I'll talk about later in the midfielders section is at the absolute top of my list this summer. Lens have been one of the stories of the season in Ligue 1, with them running PSG pretty close for the title, and whenever that happens given the finance difference it's always interesting. 

It's funny how Football works sometimes, because the only reason Ganiou got a chance in the Lens team was as a result of Jonathan Gradit breaking his leg around October/November- and it's fair to say he hasn't looked back since. To put it simply, I honestly and genuinely believe Ganiou can be a world class Centre-Back. He just has everything you need from a "modern" Centre-Back, and in theory he should only improve further as he gets more experience of top flight football. He would take some time to adapt as any young player would, especially if we're playing a 4 back next season given Lens play a 5. But of all the players in this preview, Ganiou is one I'd be absolutely dead set on signing this summer regardless of cost. 

I'd imagine it might be a bit of a hard sell to convince Ganiou to join. Lens have qualified for the Champions League next season which for obvious reasons would probably play a factor in Ganiou's choice to stay or go. But my hope is that given the financial situations of any Ligue 1 club not named PSG, we would make a good enough offer to the club and player to where it's pretty much impossible to say no. And I do think Lens make sales this summer despite the Champions League qualification, their Keeper Robin Risser (who's likely to be France's #1 this summer) is definitely going to be one to watch- and my hope is we're not far behind with Ganiou.

Leopold Querfeld (Union Berlin)
Ganiou is my first choice Centre-Back this summer, without a shadow of a doubt in my mind. However, for the reasons I've already talked about it's worth exploring other options as well. And also looking at different profiles of players, because we don't know what a new manager will want out of his defenders next season. Just as a hypothetical, someone like Nuno will want a completely different player to someone like Ange for example (I wonder why Forest struggled this season). 

I think it would be fair to say Querfeld would struggle if we played a high line next season, he's not the quickest player you've ever seen- but in the right system he'd be an absolutely phenomenal option. He's similar to Andersen in a few ways in-terms of having very good technical ability, and he's probably best suited to playing in the middle of a back three- but where Querfeld really stands out to me is his aerial ability. 

Like I've mentioned a few times, set-pieces and general sort of physicality and aerial "superiority" should be quite high on our requirements for any potential new signing this summer. As I've already said, for me it's adapt or die for a club our size in-terms of putting together a team that suits the league that the Premier League is seemingly becoming. And Querfeld would be a very good option at both ends of the pitch in that respect. Plus, seeing as we're seemingly letting defenders take penalties after the Wolves game, Querfeld actually has a pretty good penalty record for Union Berlin. It can't be a bad thing to have as many viable options as possible as we approach a Jimenez-less world where penalties were as good as goals after the dark days of Mitrovic taking them.

Charlie Cresswell (Toulouse)
Charlie Cresswell is a name I'm expecting to see linked with pretty much every mid-table and below Premier League club this summer. And it's easy to see why, Cresswell's had a very good season for Toulouse showing all the signs that he's developing into a very good young Centre-Back. Then when you factor in the fact he's homegrown, and he wouldn't command a "homegrown price" you'd normally expect to pay a Premier League club for someone of Cresswell's calibre because of the finances of Ligue 1 clubs- he's someone that will make a lot of sense to quite a few clubs.

For me, it basically just depends on who's in charge next season. In a lot of ways Cresswell is similar to Querfeld when it comes to his physicality and aerial ability, but where Querfeld excels technical ability wise, Cresswell isn't as good in that aspect- but he's better than Querfeld if you're looking for a "traditional" defender. For want of a better way to put it, Cresswell would be the perfect signing if we end up with a Nuno type of manager who doesn't mind having 30% possession, inviting pressure and then playing on the break. In fact, I was incredibly surprised West Ham didn't sign him in January. 

Tiago Gabriel (Lecce)

I'll talk about outgoings more later, but there's definitely a world, at least in my mind, where we're looking for two new right-sided Centre-Backs this summer. And as a result, I'm looking at players who can come in as backup, as well as potential starters like the three I've already discussed. 

When putting together these previews I inevitably end up looking at stats and stats profiles to narrow down the search. And one of the key stats I've been looking at, as you can probably guess, is aerial duels and how successful players are in them. The only Centre-Back aged 23 or younger who's better in the air than Gabriel is Leopold Querfeld when it comes to defending their box. So you can probably guess why Gabriel (as well as Querfeld) has made an appearance in this preview given what I'm looking for this summer. And believe it or not, there's more to come from this particular stat later on. 

Gabriel has been one of the standout young defenders in Serie A, and like I said earlier with van Oevelen- he's one of the main reasons Lecce even had a chance to stay up this season. Gabriel is probably similar to Cresswell in some ways, in the sense that he's definitely more of the "backs to the wall" variety of defender- but given he's only 21 there's still time to develop other aspects of his game and he's shown he has a very strong "base" to build on.    

Henrik Falchener (Viking)

If only we had form for signing tall Norwegian Centre-Backs who started their career at Viking. I don't think there's much of a debate as to what the story of Norwegian football has been over the last few years with the way Bodo/Glimt have equipped themselves in Europe. But lost in all the deserved praise for Bodo is the fact that they didn't actually win the Norwegian Eliteserien last season, Viking did. And as of writing/publishing they look like they could be on for a repeat performance this season. 

Falchener is one of the stars of the Viking team, deservedly earning his first cap for Norway in the most recent international break and is also World Cup bound this summer. In general I am trying to avoid those players like I said from the outset- but with Falchener's potential being as high as it is, being as good as he is at set-pieces and the fact he'd initially be joining as a backup I'm willing to make an exception to my self imposed rule. 

Just as an aside, if we ever wanted to actually be a serious football club and appoint a proper Director of Football, Viking's current one, who clearly knows what he's doing, is one Erik Nevland. 

Lautaro Di Lollo (Boca Juniors)

For our first trip to South America in this preview we're starting with one of the big boys in Boca Juniors. I feel like a general sort of perception of South American football would lead you to believe that a defender coming over would struggle with the physicality of a league like the Premier League. When it comes to Di Lollo I wouldn't have any doubts about his ability to adapt in that sense. He's very physical and very good in the air, despite not having the same height advantage as some of the Centre-Backs I've talked about before. 

A bonus with Di Lollo as well is that he's also comfortable playing as a Right-Back if required, so if we ended up wanting to have a Ben White sort of "profile" at Right-Back, then Di Lollo would more than fit the bill. 

Konstantinos Koulierakis (Wolfsburg)

Moving on to left sided Centre-Backs now, because one way or another I feel like we're going to need to sign a new one this summer. I remember talking about Greek players last year, and the number of players they have coming through specifically in relation to Giannis Konstantelias but Koulierakis was another player who was very high in my thinking last year as well despite his absence from the finished preview. 

Since then Koulierakis has been a bit of a mixed bag form wise, which you'd perhaps expect given Wolfsburg spent the very large majority of the season looking like relegation certainties before managing to put enough points together to avoid the automatic relegation spots and get into the relegation playoff against Paderborn. One part of Wolfsburg's turnaround has been Koulierakis' knack of scoring important goals, including the opener in what was essentially a relegation playoff before the relegation playoff against St. Pauli on the final day of the regular Bundesliga season. 

This all essentially goes back to my desire to be more physical and more of a threat from set pieces- and just have more goals in the team in general. To give some context, in a league season that's 4 games shorter than the Premier League, the only players we have that have scored more goals than Koulierakis, a Centre-Back, are Jimenez and Wilson. Which is both a criticism of our players and also highlights what Koulierakis brings to the table. In the right structure I do believe there's a good defender in Koulierakis as well, and given time to adapt coming in initially behind Bassey or Cuenca I think we'd have a good player on our hands. 

Taras Mykhavko (Dynamo Kyiv)

Looking outside the traditional "top" leagues, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better Centre-Back than Taras Mykhavko- especially in his age bracket. Going back to what I talked about earlier with Querfeld and Tiago Gabriel, they're 1st and 2nd in the aerial stat I mentioned. Mykhavko is 4th- and just for the record Di Lollo is 7th. 

As we've seen with Kevin this season, a signing from the Ukrainian League is going to need time to adapt- but coming in initially as a backup he'd be afforded the time to, and when he does everything I've seen from Mykhavko indicates he could be a very good Premier League Centre-Back. With Shakhtar reclaiming their throne at the top of the Ukrainian League, Dynamo Kyiv might be more in need of player sales than they otherwise might have been had they won the league again as well.

Victor Gabriel (Internacional)

After a season where having a Gabriel at set-pieces was a large reason for the success of the league winners, why stop at one Gabriel in Tiago, let's have two. I don't want to keep labouring the same points when discussing Centre-Backs in-terms of being good in the air etc. at this stage I think it's fair for you to read between the lines- so with Victor Gabriel I'll just add that he's a very good all-round defender. Like any player coming from a foreign league he'd need some leeway as he adapts to new surroundings- but the potential is most definitely there as my quest to build a team of high jumpers continues. 

Arnau Martinez (Girona)

Kenny Tete's agent played an absolute blinder last summer. In last years preview I specifically mentioned that I'd be wary of giving Tete a 3 year deal (or longer) because of his injury problems- here we are a year later and because of potentially dubious links to Everton Tete pretty much got exactly what he wanted. Saying this doesn't take away from how much I like Tete as a player, when he's fit. The problem with Tete pretty much across his whole Fulham career is that he's injured almost as much as he's not. 

That leaves us in a tricky position as far as Right-Back recruitment goes. We essentially need to sign another first choice Right-Back- because with the amount of game time our Tete alternative gets that's essentially what they are. I'll talk about Castagne more in the Outs section, but he's played more minutes than Tete this season- and ultimately that's why we need to be recruiting at a certain level for any potential new Right-Back in the window.

One of the most interesting stories in Football in the latter stages of the season has been the relegation battle in La Liga. With two games left there were a handful of teams who could realistically qualify for Europe or get relegated, which is just absurd. But after the dust settled and the final ball of the season was kicked Girona and Mallorca were the two teams who failed to beat the drop- and as usual when a team gets relegated the vultures will start circling trying to pick the bones and I am no exception. 

Someone is going to get an absolute bargain when they buy Arnau Martinez this summer. Martinez is a standout Right-Back in La Liga, but when you combine Girona's relegation with the fact Martinez is going into the last year of his contract whoever does buy him is going to be getting him significantly below what he "should" be worth- and hopefully that's us. Martinez is very good technically, and something that could prove very handy next season is his ability to play pretty much anywhere on the pitch to a pretty decent level. 

It's also worth mentioning that Girona's relegation is a timely reminder to the Khans of how quickly Football can change. Girona were playing Champions League football last season, and now they're heading to the Segunda Division. The Khans might think we're nice and settled in the Premier League now, but with how much change there's likely to be they need to be very, very careful with the moves they make this summer. 

Andrei Ratiu (Rayo Vallecano)

In an ideal world, I probably wouldn't be looking at Ratiu. I'd be looking for someone younger and therefore cheaper- at least wage wise, who has the potential to make us a profit down the line. But like I've said already, with the position we're in with Tete and his injury record we essentially need to have two first choice Right-Backs and as a result there's less room for taking risks. 

Ratiu is very much a "for now" signing, he'll be 28 by the time next season starts- in other words he wouldn't be a signing we make with resale value in mind, but that's not to discredit him ability wise because he's a top class Right-Back. He's probably the closest thing out there to a right-sided Antonee Robinson (pre injury) with his pace and the energy he gets up and down the pitch with (at least in the sorts of price ranges we can realistically shop in) and if Rayo Vallecano are to have any chance of getting a result out of the Conference League final in a couple of days then Ratiu will almost certainly need to have a good game.

It's for those reasons that Ratiu wouldn't be cheap, especially if Rayo do win the Conference League and qualify for Europe again next season. But considering where we are with Tete we need a genuine "#1 Right-Back" level player to come in as an alternative to him- and that will cost money regardless of who it is. 

Ethan Galbraith (Swansea)

One of few things I was actually quite happy to see us do this season was starting to invert one of our full-backs. I talked about it last year as something we should look at doing in order to be more effective against the "bad" teams, and for the most part I'd say we have been with the only real "outliers" being the loss at home to West Ham and the draw against Wolves. 

If that's something we want to keep doing next season with whoever's in charge, then it's worth looking at potential options for that role. I really like Galbraith, he's very secure on the ball and if he did come in to play as an inverted Right-Back I would have no complaints- but I'm mainly using this section to discuss something I've been thinking about over the last couple of months on a similar train of thought.

I think we should make Sasa Lukic a Right-Back. It might sound stupid, it probably is, but I'm at a point with this team where I think we need to start thinking a bit more outside the box. It's a trend you'll have probably noticed over the last couple of seasons with players like Matheus Nunes, Mats Wieffer and Lewis Cook all playing there- and the more I've thought about it the more it actually makes sense. Lukic would defend with the same sort of aggression that Tete does (and Castagne doesn't), he can cover a lot of ground getting up and down the pitch- and tactically it would give us another good option while also probably extending his Fulham career by a couple of years because as a midfielder I'm not sure how long Lukic has left.  

Mats Rots (FC Twente)

More often than not our inverted full-back this season has been Sessegnon and assuming that (when fit) Kenny Tete will be our first choice Right-Back next season, if we want to continue down this path with whoever's in charge then I'd like to sign more of a "specialist" on the left. Say hello to Mats Rots. I don't think you can ever really do complete like for like comparisons with players, but it's almost impossible not to mention Nico O'Reilly when you talk about the sort of profile Rots is. 

They're both about the same size, they're both essentially midfielders who have been converted to Left-Backs and both players "Football IQ" is very high. If we got anywhere close to the performances City have had with O'Reilly this season with Rots then I'd be a very happy fan- and I do think Rots has the potential to deliver those sorts of returns. 

Stephen Mfuni (Man City)
I'm sure a lot of the people reading this will know what I'm talking about when I say sometimes when you're watching the Championship you can instantly just tell a player you're watching is a level above. I had it with Viktor Gyokeres, I had it with Gabriel Sara and I had it watching Stephen Mfuni. So despite the fact Mfuni only played a handful of games on loan at Watford before an injury ended his season, I'd be all in on signing him this summer. 

He's calm on the ball, he reads the game well, he's quick, he uses his size- and he's versatile as well. He can play as the left-sided Centre-Back or as a Left-Back, which gives us options in-terms of team selections. I probably wouldn't trust him to slot straight in at Centre-Back in the Premier League given his age and lack of experience which is why I have him down as a Left-Back, but it's definitely a role he could grow into and going back to what I said with Lautaro Di Lollo he'd give us the option of having an "Arsenal type" defence of essentially having 4 Centre-Backs to try and be more solid. 

Jorge Salinas (Racing Santander)

Off the bat I feel like it's worth mentioning that the last time I recommended signing a full-back from the Segunda Division it was Marc Pubill last year, who has since turned into a key player for Atletico Madrid and been called up to Spain's World Cup squad.

With that in mind I kept my eye out hoping for a repeat performance, and all roads have led back to Jorge Salinas. While I've focused on an inverted full-back and essentially a Centre-Back playing Left-Back so far, Salinas is more of the traditional variety- and purely from the perspective of how I want Football to be played a full-back bombing up and down the wing, overlapping and getting into wide attacking areas will always have a special place in my heart. As is the case with most of the players in this preview, he still has to develop and grow, which you'd expect from any player Salinas' age- but I really think Salinas would be an absolute gem. 

Midfielders
I went into last years midfielders section talking about the area needing major surgery, and we ended up signing literally nobody. Here we are a year later and the only change compared to last year is we don't have Andreas Pereira. I think it's fair to say I'm not a big fan of our current midfield. I'll talk about outgoings later, but genuinely the only midfielder I'd be disappointed to see go this summer is Josh King. I've talked about potentially converting Sasa Lukic into a Right-Back already to mirror the sort of "trends" we've seen with clubs we've been competing with over the last few years- and I'm genuinely not opposed to a complete reset of our midfield and midfield dynamics this summer. Something has to happen, because it just isn't good enough. 

Morten Frendrup (Genoa)

My first order of business in this midfield reset is to bring some energy and bite back into the mix. Up until a couple of weeks ago I really thought we could have tried to bring Joao Palhinha back this summer. But between Spurs staying up and De Zerbi saying he wants Palhinha to stay- and also reports linking him back to Sporting I don't think he'll be coming back to "our Cottage". So in the absence of Palhinha, it's time to look at alternatives. 

Frendrup is someone I brought up before when I was directly looking for Palhinha replacements a couple of years ago. He's not as big and physical as Palhinha is, but he's just as aggressive out of possession and a big thing for me when talking about this "reset" is the energy that Frendrup would bring to the midfield. It's definitely too far to compare him to someone like Kante, but I think the comparison works in the sense that Frendrup covers so much ground for Genoa in the role he's in. Especially over the last couple of months everything has just lacked energy and any sort of hunger, and adding someone like Frendrup would go some way to addressing that specific issue. 

Kodai Sano (NEC Nijmegen)

As I talked about at the start of this preview, one of the big things I was looking for player wise in this preview was players who aren't going to the World Cup. And with that in mind, Sano wasn't on my original shortlist, because I just assumed Sano was almost a given to go with Japan after the season he's had for NEC as they qualified for the Champions League qualifiers. But here we are, and Sano has the summer off. 

Sano is just an absolute standout to me. He's very much an all rounder in the sense that he does more than his fair share defensively but he also pops up with goals and assists- and that would be another aspect of the midfield I'd be keen to improve. As I'm sure everyone else is as well when you consider Berge is afraid to shoot and Lukic can seemingly only score at St James' Park. 

I'd be interested to see how viable the Sano signing would be, at least early doors, because like I've said before this summer categorically needs to be one where we break the habit of a lifetime and get at least a large part of our business done before pre-season really gets going. Much like we had with Kevin last summer, I could see a world where NEC want to hold on to Sano, at least until their European qualifiers are done. But even if it means we have to pay a bit more I'd be more than happy if that meant just getting it done because Sano would definitely be worth it. 

Caspar Jander (Southampton)

To be a Southampton fan right now. If an intern wasn't caught hiding behind a tree I think it's a fair bet that we would've been playing Southampton next season- because since the head of German MI5 Tonda Eckert replaced Will Still them and Coventry were the two standout teams in the Championship by some distance. 

I suppose you do have to asterisk their form a bit in hindsight, because I have a bridge to sell anyone who believes they only spied on the three games the admitted to- they probably spied on us before the cup game. Although I don't think any amount of spying can tell you Andersen will give away a stupid penalty in the 90th minute. As a result of everything going on, there's probably going to be a queue at the exit door at St. Mary's this summer. There's already rumours of the players suing the club for loss of potential bonuses, earnings etc. and as more stuff comes out over the summer it's probably going to get even worse for them. 

That presents opportunities for other clubs, and I'd be at the front of the queue for Caspar Jander this summer. Jander was a standout midfielder in the Championship once Southampton really got going, and his energy and defensive output is just incredible. He's not bad on the ball either, he found himself in more of a defensive role for Southampton but the season prior at Nurnberg he was their main creative force and that adaptability will be good as we try to put the pieces together of hopefully a very new look team next season. 

Leon Avdullahu (Hoffenheim)

In the Ismaelo Ganiou section I mentioned that Ganiou was one of the players I was absolutely dead set on this summer along with someone else. If you said out of everyone in this preview we could only sign two players, it would be Ganiou and it would be Avdullahu. Especially in Avdullahu's case just because of what it would mean for us as a club, and the change in dynamic it would give our midfield compared to what we've had this season. 

As basic as it sounds, I just want someone who'll pass the ball forwards. I was pretty content if we didn't renew Cairney's contract last summer- but we've just gone through another season where Cairney was our only midfield option who wants to actually get his foot on the ball and move it up the pitch. He's 35. We can't keep going on like that forever, even with Cairney signing another extension- which for the record I didn't agree with. Especially not in January. For me it just stinks of doing the cheap option and kicking the proverbial can down the road as far as replacing him. 

Avdullahu would bring our midfield to a completely different level. I don't think you can do exact 1-for-1 comparisons like I've said before, but I think the closest one I can make is to someone like Adam Wharton- and when you consider the sort of impact he's had at Palace you can probably imagine why I'd be so desperate to sign him. Especially with Hoffenheim missing out on the Champions League, I'd like to think if we put in a good enough offer we could sign Avdullahu- and if we could pair Avdullahu with let's say Frendrup as our two deeper midfielders that would give us a much better balance and just be such a big improvement on what we've had for most of the last two years. 

Kevin Danois (Auxerre)

As was the case earlier with Ismaelo Ganiou, while I do have a very clear preference, it's still worth looking at alternative options. There's not too much to add with Danois on top of what I've said with Avdullahu because they're very similar profile wise which is obviously what I've been looking for in-terms of having a new "passing" midfielder. 

The one thing worth adding when talking about Danois is that his set-piece delivery is usually very good. There's no use signing any/all of the aerially dominant physical monsters I've talked about in the defenders section if we're hitting the first man from every corner. I'm not expecting Arsenal levels of set pieces, but I'd like to at least be a consistent threat from them. 

Sydie Peck (Sheffield Utd)

Avdullahu is my first choice as far as a "passing midfielder" goes, without a shadow of a doubt in my mind. But with the level of investment the squad needs this summer and the amount of signings we need to make, I do accept that we're going to have to try and be smart in some areas of the pitch if we're going to recruit to the level I think we need to. A good budget option for this role in my opinion would be Sydie Peck. Sheffield Utd's parachute payments have run out after a complete disaster of a season when they would have expected to at least be in the mix for promotion after losing the Play-Off final a year ago. As a result they'll have to cut their cloth accordingly this summer. That's not to say I think we'll get Peck for 10p and a greasy chip butty, but he shouldn't be anywhere close to price that would be unattainable for us.  

Peck was one of Sheffield Utd's standout players, despite the underwhelming season, and I think the thing that's really stood out to me with Peck is just his attitude as much as anything else. When a team is struggling some players hide, especially young players- but Peck is someone who from what I've seen is always willing to stand up and show for the ball regardless of what else is going on and having that self belief and confidence can go a long way. 

I hope you all respect my restraint to have a Sheffield Utd player in this list and for it not to be Gustavo Hamer.

Yuto Ozeki (Kawasaki Frontale)

In a further effort to completely reshape our midfield, I'd also be looking to sign a young midfielder for relatively cheap who we can treat as a bit of a project player to develop over the next few years while we phase Berge, Lukic, Cairney and Reed out. They wouldn't be coming in to make an instant impact, and with all three players in this mini section I wouldn't even necessarily expect for them to be signed and in the building straight away. I'd be happy to accept all of them being loaned back to their current clubs and then join up in January given all three play in leagues that run through the summer. 

As I mentioned with Rui Araki, I've tried to start really paying attention to all of the international youth tournaments that happen- and Yuto Ozeki is someone who really stood out at the U23 Asian Cup at the start of 2026. You do have to asterisk it slightly, because Japan were by far the strongest team at the tournament- but Ozeki had a stand out tournament and overall he just looks like a very good all round midfielder. In todays market for a club our size we do have to try and find value for money when possible, and in that sense looking at markets like Japan is something I wish we'd do more- because much like Brighton and Tony Bloom worked out a long time ago now- there are good players everywhere if you know where to look. 

Cauan Barros (Vasco da Gama)

While our focus in-terms of midfielders based in Brazil is seemingly on former Forest midfielder Danilo, I've tried to look a bit further in the search for someone a bit younger, a bit cheaper and who won't be going to the World Cup. I was split between two players in the end, Barros, obviously, and Victor Hugo at Atletico Mineiro. The reason Barros edged it for me is I think his skillset lends itself more to being able to adapt to the Premier League. He has a bit of an edge in-terms of general aggression, physicality and being better in the air- plus he's more secure on the ball which is probably a key thing to look at when you consider the amount of time he'll get on the ball if he was to make the step up to the Premier League.  

Adri Mehmeti (New York Red Bulls)

The youngest player of the three in this mini section, but the one with highest potential by far is Adri Mehmeti. There's been a bit of a youth revolution at New York Red Bulls with Mehmeti breaking through at the same time as Matthew Dos Santos and Julian Hall- but for my money Mehmeti is the pick of the bunch. 

He obviously still needs to grow and develop more, he's only just turned 17, but based on what he's shown so far he has all the tools to be a genuine top level midfielder one day. Mehmeti has a very good first touch, he's very composed on the ball, he's happy receiving the ball on the edge of his own box and for someone his age the fact he's quite press resistant in that role is incredibly impressive- and like I made a point of mentioning with Avdullahu he actually passes the ball forwards. It will obviously be a big step up coming to the Premier League, and he'd be tested in the press resistance sense a lot more with the upgrade in intensity- but as long as he can keep developing, his technical ability, read of the game and other "fundamentals" are already absolutely top drawer. 

Plus if we end up selling Robinson this summer we need an American in the mix- and as I'll discuss later I don't want that to be Ricardo Pepi. 

Kamory Doumbia (Brest)

I'm going to talk about Emile Smith Rowe more later, but for now let's just say I'm happy to look at alternative options for the #10 role to compete with Josh King. When looking for alternatives, I think my criteria basically boils down to "what does Smith Rowe not do?". As harsh as that may sound, I really think it is that simple. 

Compared to Smith Rowe, someone like Doumbia is an absolute dream for a manager. If we end up with a manager who wants to press with intensity high up the pitch next season, firstly Smith Rowe would die within about 20 minutes, but Doumbia would be absolutely perfect. The amount of energy he puts into pressing and winning the ball high up is incredible, and if we had Doumbia and say Frendrup in the same midfield we'd be an absolute nightmare to play against from a pressing standpoint in theory. Doumbia isn't a slouch on the ball either and he'd be more of a creative force than Smith Rowe's been for us as well (granted that isn't saying much).  

Eliesse Ben Seghir (Bayer Leverkusen)

Ben Seghir's move to Leverkusen last summer was one of the transfers I was really excited by, in the sense that I thought Ben Seghir had the potential to really take the Bundesliga by storm based on what he'd shown at Monaco. Considering I'm currently linking him to Fulham, you can probably guess how that's gone. It's with this perceived potential in mind that I'm breaking my own rules and asking for someone who'll be stateside with Morocco this summer though- maybe he can be roommates with Issa Diop and we get a good word put in. 

I'm not really sure why Ben Seghir's move to Leverkusen has turned out as badly as it has. He's had some injury problems, but for whatever reason he just couldn't string performances or consistent game time together. As a result, you have to think if the right offer came in for Ben Seghir then Leverkusen would consider selling him. Especially as they "only" qualified for the Europa League and the financial difference that will make for a club who have had Champions League income over the last few seasons. 

Ben Seghir won't press like Doumbia will, and his strengths definitely lie on the ball- but ultimately until we know who the manager is next season we won't know what said manager wants out of his different players and roles so consider this hedging my bets. 

Gustavo Sa (Famalicao)

Part 3 of hedging my bets after one "pressing" #10 and one "traditional" #10 is to recommend a #10 who isn't really one. I highlighted Gustavo Sa in last years preview, and when we sold Pereira he would have been the absolute top of my list replacement for him- especially compared to what we ended up with. Sa isn't really a "proper" #10, and the role he'd fill for any potential new manager would be if whoever we had in charge wanted to set up similarly to how we did under Jokanovic for example with Cairney and Johansen either side of McDonald as opposed to having a "proper" attacking midfielder who plays higher up the pitch. 

I'm not going to talk too much about Sa, because as I said I highlighted him last year as well- but I think he'd be a very smart signing for us and depending on who we have in charge next season he might even have a bit of a head start coming in (more later). 

Forwards

Goals. When thinking about recruiting this summer, above anything else, that one word has to be what people keep coming back to. Especially when you consider the fact that we're most likely losing the only two players who actually have decent goal returns this season on free transfers this in Wilson and Jimenez. Even beyond that our general attacking play and goal threat has been absolutely awful for a while. The goal drought we've had at the end of the season has highlighted it more, but when our only routes to goal for a large chunk of the season were essentially a Harry Wilson worldie or Jimenez scoring a penalty- it was never that sustainable. It's not as simple as "just" buying Strikers either, we need a complete rethink when it comes to our buildup play and how we go about trying to create chances- because right now we just don't. 

Jacob Murphy (Newcastle)

With what I've just said in mind, I think my best way to sum up what I want out of this window in-terms of winger recruitment is just different options tactically. As of now, we have Oscar Bobb and Kevin (and Iwobi if you're counting him) who both want to cut in on their strong foot from their respective wing. So with that in mind, rather than making Chukwueze permanent who'd be more of the same, my priorities for this window would be a right-footed right-winger and a left-footed left-winger who'll stay wide, go on the outside and give an opposition full-back something else to think about. 

I feel like people might turn their nose up at someone like Jacob Murphy just because he's not a shiny new wonder kid from Ecuador. Over the years I've always highlighted my want for balance when it comes to experience and getting our average age down- and with Bobb and Kevin we have two young wingers who are likely to be first choice next season who can't have more than 25 Premier League starts between them. There isn't a doubt in my mind as to the ability of both of them, but with the sort of season I feel like we're going to have next year- I'd feel a lot better about things if we had some genuine Premier League experience and know how at the club as well. 

I think it's fair to say Murphy isn't at the level he was a year or two ago when I would have genuinely put him up there as one of the best wingers in the league just for attacking output and numbers- but I do think he's quite underrated by a lot of people. With Newcastle having a perpetual need to sell players to keep up with FFP combined with Murphy's age and the fact he's going into the last year of his contract I'd like to think we could get Murphy for a pretty decent price this summer. 

And if we did sign Murphy, whatever else you can say about him, and he does have drawbacks- Murphy's crossing ability is absolutely sublime. Going back to what I said about "routes to goal" Murphy's delivery more often than not will be good enough, as was highlighted by Arne Slot when he was asked about Isak's underperformance earlier in the season. For as much as everyone (including me) gets excited about signing a young player like Ismaelo Ganiou for example, I genuinely believe Jacob Murphy would be one of our smartest signings this summer. Plus I feel like he always scores against us, so we'd at least be taking that off the table. 

Federico Chiesa (Liverpool)

I realise it's quite hypocritical of me to go straight from talking about how much I'd value Premier League experience in the case of this particular signing role-wise and then going straight into discussing someone who's been noteworthy for the lack of game time he's had in the Premier League over the last two seasons- but here we are. 

Chiesa is someone I'm sure most people were aware of, even before signing for Liverpool- and it's easy to forget just how good of a player he was before picking up an ACL injury while he was still at Juventus not long after he'd starred for Italy at Euro 2020(1). If he was still that player, we wouldn't be able to sign him. But even the player Chiesa is now has potential to still be a really good signing for us in my opinion. It's a bet, but ultimately every signing is, and it's a bet I feel like we've taken quite a few times since promotion where we sign a player who people perceive to be finished with a mentality of "I can fix you". 

Wages would be a problem if Chiesa's on what he's reported to be on at Liverpool, but assuming Slot stays at Liverpool over the summer, we could probably try and get Chiesa on loan with Liverpool paying a percentage. It's not like the Serie A clubs who'll probably be after Chiesa will be offering better terms, and if we could pull that off Chiesa would represent a relatively low risk, high reward signing going into next season. 

Ansgar Knauff (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Knauff has been on my radar if you want to call it that for a few years now, specifically since he put in some very big performances in Frankfurt's successful Europa League campaign in the 2021/22 season. In that campaign he played as a Wing-Back, but for the most part over the last couple of years owing to a change in formation he's found himself playing as an out and out winger. The wing-back thing would be interesting to me depending on who we have in charge though, and I think there's potential for Knauff to turn into our new Bobby Reid type figure who'll just play anywhere and seems to have a knack for scoring goals at the right time. 

Knauff has turned into a bit of a bit part player for Frankfurt this season, which is a large part of why I think this would be a good time to try and sign him because the price shouldn't be extortionate. In a sense I think Knauff would bring what we lost when we sold Traore, or rather he'd bring what we thought we were getting when we signed Traore. Knauff is lightning quick, giving us a genuine possibility to play on the break and in transition, which is a huge selling point to me because I genuinely think we're the worst in the league at doing so currently. Regardless of who the manager is next season I would imagine that's one of the first things they'll look at, because a club like ours who has to play on the back foot in some games can't afford to be as limp on the counter as we are.  

Factoring in the pace, the finishing, the potential availability and positional versatility as well as Knauff being a "good" age at 24 compared to the two players I've talked about previously- all of the ingredients are there for potentially a very shrewd signing on our part in my opinion. 

Christopher Bonsu Baah (Al Qadsiah)

Shifting focus to left-footed left-wingers now, and if it was entirely up to me I'd just have Sessegnon in that role. Especially as there isn't one perfect option as I'll discuss because all three of my "recommendations" do have drawbacks. Plus I don't think many Fulham fans would disagree that Sessegnon's probably the best finisher at the club, or at least the most natural. As it is, I think whoever we have in charge next season won't see it the same way- which is a shame because I genuinely think Sessegnon has a double digit goal return in him if he got consistent enough game time as a winger. 

So with that said, it's time to look at alternative options and we're starting with a trip to Saudi Arabia with a team managed by Brendan Rodgers of all people. Bonsu Baah was on my radar last year when he was still in Belgium and he was linked with a host of clubs at the time, but he took the money move to Saudi Arabia. However one year on, there seems to be some cracks appearing in the Saudi Football "project".  

There are a lot of rumours about the Saudis cutting back on pretty much all of their sporting investments for a variety of reasons that are probably worth an entirely different blog. But from a Fulham perspective this could provide opportunities. This isn't me saying we can get Bonsu Baah on a free, but I'd definitely like to test the waters to see how willing he would be to join the Premier League- especially as his registration for next season could end up getting complicated as he won't be eligible to be one of the two Under 21 foreigners Saudi clubs are allowed to register separately from 8 "normal" ones. 

It's far from a sure thing, and while as of writing Ghana's World Cup squad hasn't been announced- I'd be surprised if he wasn't involved which is another potential drawback. But, if we did sign Bonsu Baah we'd have a very good player on our hands. We saw with Chukwueze before AFCON what having a left footed left-winger can potentially give us- and I think we'd get that more consistently from Bonsu Baah in-terms of his directness on the ball and just with his overall ability. 

Maxi Araujo (Sporting CP)

Another player who, while not officially yet, will be headed to the World Cup this summer is Sporting's Maxi Araujo with Uruguay. It's not ideal for reasons I've discussed, but like I said already, there isn't one perfect option for this role- we just have to make do. 

World Cup aside and availability taken out of the equation, Araujo is a great footballer.  On paper he would probably be down as a Wing-Back, or maybe even a Left-Back- but with the way Sporting play, Araujo pretty much plays as a winger. The position thing is a positive from my perspective though, if we end up with a Manager who wants to play with Wing-Backs for example then Araujo would be even higher in my priority list- and in general being versatile can never be a bad thing. I would see Araujo primarily as an out and out winger for us though, he's a great finisher and in general a lot of what he's good at lends itself to the more attacking side of the game. The defensive side can just be a bonus. 

Filip Kostic (Juventus)

I've already talked about our need to be smart when it comes to money we spend, just because of the amount of positions we need to sign players in and the financial limitations we'll be operating with this summer. Both in-terms of the new Squad Cost Ratio rules coming in and also just how much money Shahid Khan is willing to put in generally speaking- because I worked out what my "ideal" transfer window would be and it would comfortably cost over 200m which I'm not sure is very realistic even with some big player sales. 

With that in mind, signing someone like Filip Kostic on a free transfer makes a lot of sense to me when it comes to what I perceive us to need. Like Araujo, Kostic can also play in a more defensive capacity as a Wing-Back if we end up having a manager who wants to play a 5 back- but like my first choice on the other side of the pitch in Jacob Murphy the thing that's always impressed me with Kostic is his crossing ability. 

Regardless of who we have in charge next season, one thing we need to improve greatly is the amount of service we give whoever's up-front- and having someone like Kostic in the mix would give us a great option on that left-wing in a crossing sense. He'd be a completely different proposition to Kevin stylistically, which goes back to what I said from the outset about wanting different options to give opposition full-backs different things to think about rather than just having to worry about the 27th time in a row someone's tried to cut in on their strong foot. 

Kostic obviously isn't a long-term solution given his age, but in a window where we're likely (hopefully) to have so much change in the squad as a stop gap option we could do a lot worse.

Liam Delap (Chelsea)

After the season he's had I realise this may sound ridiculous to some people, but for the sort of money we're supposedly trying to throw at PSV for Ricardo Pepi I'd rather just buy Liam Delap. I feel like pretty much everyone could've told you last summer that Delap moving to Chelsea was a bad idea. Delap had a very good season for Ipswich, but the step up to Chelsea just felt like it would be too much too soon- and that's how it's turned out. I understand why Delap would've wanted to make the move, but it's just a case of trying to run before you can walk. 

I don't think Chelsea are going to stand in Delap's way should a good enough bid come in for him this summer, and if Delap did sign for us I do think we could get his career back on track with less of a microscope on him and giving him the leeway to grow and develop that he was getting at Ipswich. We've seen first hand what Delap is capable of given he has a knack for scoring at the Cottage seemingly- and with the right coaching and just telling him to calm down I really think there's a very good player in there.

Igor Matanovic (Freiburg)

I'm breaking my own rules again with this one, as Igor Matanovic is World Cup bound with Croatia. But like it is for left-footed left-wingers, the Striker market is just hard. Especially for a club our size who can't just go out and spend whatever they want- finding the right player for the right price is very tricky. 

It probably isn't great for the sales pitch that I'm asking for Freiburg's main striker just after the Europa League final that took place last week, but here we are. Although I think in general that final, and the final Palace will most likely have in a few days just shows how strong the Premier League is in relation to the rest of Europe- and why I'd be so desperate for us to get a run at the Conference League one day because it would provide a very good potential route to us winning our first ever major trophy. 

Europa League final aside, Matanovic has had a very impressive season for Freiburg. He's big, he's physical, he's good in the air and he has a good eye for goal. He wouldn't be my first choice, just because of the World Cup, but in isolation if we had Matanovic up-front for us next season I definitely wouldn't be disappointed.

Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta)

Someone who doesn't have the problem of a World Cup this summer thanks to Italy not qualifying is Gianluca Scamacca. Scamacca's probably best known to most people with a Premier League bias for his underwhelming spell with West Ham- and specifically when it comes to Fulham being one chapter in the saga of Chris Kavanagh vs Fulham. 

While I'm not saying he's blameless, I don't think Scamacca failing at West Ham is all on him. West Ham went through a weird phase with Strikers where they'd always end up circling back to Michail Antonio because of what David Moyes wanted out of his striker- and very good strikers like Haller and Scamacca ended up taking a back seat as a result. I still rate Scamacca despite his previous spell in the Premier League, from my perspective I think the problem he had can be boiled down to being mis-profiled as a stereotypical target man because of his size when he really isn't that. Scamacca from a technique perspective is absolutely first class, and if we played to his strengths we'd have a very good option on our hands. 

Jovon Makama (Norwich)

We need to sign two strikers this summer. Last year I was quite relaxed about "only" having two striker options with Jimenez and Muniz and wanted to sign a winger who "can" play up-front as our third option. After the season we've just had, I won't be making the same mistake. Watching a barely fit Jimenez run himself into the ground every week for months over the winter wasn't fun- we need to sign another viable option so we're not in that position again should one of our two main strikers get injured.

I know there's a sort of romantic train of thought related to signing Mihailo Ivanovic at Millwall as a "new Mitrovic" given his idolisation of Mitrovic and the celebration etc. but if we're signing any striker from the Championship this summer it has to be Jovon Makama for me. Before picking up an injury around January, for my money Makama was turning into the best striker in the league. He has the physicality, which you'd expect from someone his size who's grown up in the lower leagues, but he's also just all round quite a good football player, and one thing that really stands out to me is that he can create chances and shooting opportunities for himself. A bonus with Makama as well is he doesn't necessarily "have" to play up-front. Despite his size, he's quite a unique profile in the sense that he's played quite a few games on the wing, which goes back to a point I've made a few times about having tactical versatility.  

Alvaro Rodriguez (Elche)

I talked about the relegation battle in La Liga earlier with Arnau Martinez, and the goal that ultimately led to Girona's demise was scored by Alvaro Rodriguez in what was essentially a relegation play-off between Elche and Girona on the final day. It was some goal by the way, try and find it on Twitter. 

Not for the first time in this preview, the thing that's really drawn my attention to Rodriguez is just the fact he's an absolute monster in the air. Initially I was just interested in Rodriguez because the rumour was that if we signed Ricardo Pepi in January, PSV would sign Rodriguez. When it comes to talent ID and just generally being smart in the market, I know who I'd favour out of PSV and Tony Khan- so I decided to look into it more and see if it was potentially worth cutting out the proverbial middle man and going straight for Rodriguez instead. 

Rodriguez is still a bit raw, which is understandable given his age, but you can see why he got some game time for Real Madrid as he was breaking through and he's really come into his own this season as he's been getting more consistent game time for Elche. While his aerial ability is what has really sold me on him, he's not bad with the ball at his feet either- and if you need proof you should really go out of your way to find the goal Rodriguez scored against Girona because wow. 

Out of everyone I've talked about in this striker section, Rodriguez is the closest thing I can find to a potential "new Mitrovic". He doesn't have the same outright aggression, but he can make the ball stick when it comes to him and with his aerial ability the good old fashioned cross to the back post we scored so many goals with over the years with Mitrovic could be back on the menu provided we can get the service into him. 

Olivier Giroud (Lille)

I've already highlighted with a few players my want for experience in the forward areas, because as I've said already I do think there's a tendency as fans to fixate on the "shiny new toy". Especially the way Football is nowadays you see entire clubs (Chelsea) who just want to sign the latest wonder kids. There's definitely a place for that, but when it comes to Strikers I'm not sure if it would be the smartest move for us this summer. Despite highlighting all these other strikers, I still think it's more likely than not that the "main" striker we end up with is Ricardo Pepi. That makes me nervous. 

Especially with how Muniz has ended the season, having Muniz and Pepi as our main two striker options doesn't fill me with confidence. It's a very big bet, and while Muniz isn't that young anymore it still feels like we'd be going into the season relying on two relatively inexperienced strikers- and to me that could go wrong very quickly. So with this third striker option, rather than have a young Kusi Asare type, I'd feel more secure if we had a "been there and done that" player who will have his limitations, but would still be quite reliable if called upon. 

There's a reason a club like Brighton for all of their amazing recruitment and scouting still have Danny Welbeck up-front, and have players like James Milner in the squad. The balance has to be right, and if we had two (or three) inexperienced strikers I'm not sure it would be. I don't think there's much need to go into any depth about Giroud, so instead I'll highlight a few of the other players I considered for this spot. Those players were Callum Wilson, Alvaro Morata, Edin Dzeko and of course potentially just giving Jimenez another year. 

Outs
Calvin Bassey

There are players I want to sell this summer coming up later and there are players who we might need to sell in order to fund the sort of transfer window I've talked about us needing this summer. If it wasn't obvious Bassey falls into the latter category. Bassey's overall performance levels are very good, and the way he's developed over the three seasons with us has been great to see after his Ajax stint didn't go well to say the least. But contract wise, Bassey essentially has two years left with the option we have- so if we're going to cash in at his "proper" value it has to be now. 

Then when you factor in the new Squad Cost Ratio rules coming in, it essentially means a club our size has to make player sales if we want to spend at the sort of levels we'll need to this summer in order to refresh the squad. Especially factoring in the money we've spent over the last year on Kevin and Oscar Bobb while only selling Pereira I feel like we'll need do some book balancing if we want to spend further. And in-terms of "sellable assets" Bassey is one of the players we can actually get a really good fee for. That's not to say I'd be forcing Bassey out the door, he's still one of our best players- but like I said, for me, this feels like the right time.

I wouldn't even be that nervous about selling Bassey to be honest. For as good as he's been, I've been very impressed with Jorge Cuenca when he has played for the most part. On the face of it, I feel like we've actually had a rare moment of good squad planning where we've done what serious clubs like Brighton do and got our replacement in the building before letting Bassey leave. 

Alex Iwobi

I'm not really sure how controversial it would be to say sell Iwobi this summer. Because he is, objectively, one of our best players. In-terms of "Football IQ" I'd say he's definitely our smartest player, without a shadow of a doubt in my mind- and regardless of who's in charge next season having someone like Iwobi around who can play multiple positions to a high level can only be seen as a positive. 

With that said, in a similar vein as Bassey, I think Iwobi is someone we might need to sell this summer as opposed to actively wanting him to be sold. He has two years left on his contract, so value wise, especially with Iwobi's age, this summer is realistically when we should be trying to cash in- and when I look ahead to next season I'm not really sure Iwobi fits into the "vision". 

He's a very good footballer, but for left-wing I'd have Kevin and a left-footer and for centre-mid I'm not sure having Iwobi there gives us a good enough balance compared to what I'd personally be looking for with a pairing of Avdullahu and Frendrup for example. And as a result Iwobi might end up being a bit of an odd man out, and he's too good and too valuable transfer fee wise to be that for us- so from that perspective cashing in and reinvesting the money could make sense.

Antonee Robinson

The third player we have who I think will be in demand and could fetch a half decent transfer fee for us this summer is Antonee Robinson. I don't think you can say we should have cashed in last summer, because realistically he wouldn't have passed a medical- but we're here a year later and Robinson definitely hasn't hit the same heights he was hitting pre-injury to put it lightly and Robinson definitely isn't worth what he potentially could have been this time last year.

As is the case with Bassey and Iwobi, Robinson has two years left on his contract- and my hope is that Robinson still has enough of a "reputation" built up from the season prior to fetch a half decent transfer fee from any potential new club. A half decent World Cup for Robinson can't hurt his value either, but the World Cup is also part of why I'd be quite keen to sell. 

Sessegnon is probably already our first choice Left-Back, but with the fitness issues Robinson's had, having the World Cup this summer which will disrupt his pre-season just cements Sessegnon there even further in my view for next season. So to put it another way, what club our size could afford to turn down a 20-25m offer for their backup Left-Back. A backup Left-Back who can't cross and hasn't even really been that good since he picked up a bad injury no less. That's probably harsh, because he has been phenomenal over his career at Fulham- and I do genuinely believe he was the best Left-Back in the league last season- but this summer with everything factored in feels like a good time to thank him for his service and everyone moves on to something new.

Harry Wilson

Speaking of moving on to something new, I don't think it'll be a surprise to anyone when we announce Wilson's departure on a free transfer at some point in the next few weeks. I think my big frustration with Wilson isn't that he's leaving necessarily, it's just that we can't cash in on the season he's had. Although I suppose you could probably argue he wouldn't have necessarily played the same way if he wasn't essentially playing for the last big contract of his career. 

As frustrating as it is having Wilson leave on a free, we just have to accept it and move on. There's no ill will towards him, at least from me. He's responsible for some of my favourite Fulham memories in the last few years and he's also probably the only reason we weren't in a relegation scrap this season if we're being honest. I don't think as fans we can realistically say Wilson shouldn't take the chance to play in the Champions League if he does indeed up at Villa Park as has been heavily rumoured. 

Raul Jimenez

I already brought it up briefly when talking about Olivier Giroud, but I really wouldn't be opposed to giving Jimenez another year. For the reasons I've already talked about, I don't see any negatives to keeping someone with Jimenez's experience around if we do end up with Pepi and Muniz as our other two striker options. I suppose ultimately it will come down to the money on offer and what Jimenez's preference is after getting the World Cup out of the way- but from my perspective the door should definitely be open. 

Emile Smith Rowe

I was willing to give Smith Rowe this season before really forming an opinion on him, because last season was always going to be about Smith Rowe just playing Football again. This season was the one where Smith Rowe had to start playing like the 30m player we signed him to be, and of all the things you can describe Smith Rowe as this season- I don't think that would be one of them. 

It would be one thing if he was giving us a lot off the ball for instance like a Kamory Doumbia would, but he doesn't. As our #10 he doesn't have a single assist this season. He's played one full 90 minutes in two seasons. It's ridiculous. The problem we'll have with Smith Rowe is just whether any potential suitors would be willing to take him at a price we'd take. But with Smith Rowe and the player I'll talk about next, I do think it will be a bit of a sunk cost fallacy to keep them, and provided it doesn't nuke our potential window as far as being able to spend I'd be happy just to cut our losses, take what we can and move on. 

Joachim Andersen

Do I think it's likely that Joachim Andersen departs this summer? No. Do I want Joachim Andersen to ever wear a Fulham shirt again? Also no. I feel like by Football fan standards I'm not that reactive or prone to exaggeration. When it comes to Joachim Andersen, I think it's entirely fair to say he ruined our season. Other players and Silva aren't blameless of course, but between the stupid red card against Bournemouth and giving away the penalty against Southampton that cost us our place in the cup- I don't think you can come to any other conclusion. 

Up until Bournemouth I wasn't as harsh on Andersen as some people, but for Andersen as one of our supposed "leaders" to get sent off in the manner he did in the context of the game was just the final straw for me. Like I said though, I don't think it's likely Andersen does depart, I can't see any team out there being willing to pay Andersen the wages we put him on to get him out of Palace- and then you have to factor the hit we'd take when we inevitably sold Andersen at a loss as well. This one is probably more wishful thinking as I've said, but like Smith Rowe, Andersen is someone I just want to see the back of in my hopes that this summer can be the full reset this team really needs.

Timothy Castagne

I've actually debated in my head about whether to include Castagne. I usually start putting these previews together months in advance, and Castagne was always someone I've felt we needed to sell this summer. I still do, but to give Castagne his credit he's probably been our best player over the last couple of months- granted that's not a particularly high bar. 

However, with all that said, I still think it's the right time to move Castagne on. He's going into the last year of his contract, he's turned 30 and despite the praise I've given him- in the bigger picture his overall performances still leave a lot be desired. Then factoring in this desired reset I've talked about quite a few times that I think we need this summer, if it was a simple question of whether I'd have Castagne or Arnau Martinez for example there is literally zero debate for me. 

Issa Diop

Something I've mentioned a couple of times in this section already is my view that if someone has two years left on their contract it's time to cash in or renew. And I stand by that when it comes to Bassey, Iwobi and Robinson. It means you're not risking losing someone on a free, like we are with Wilson, and in general I think it's quite a healthy way to do business. 

This is what we should have done with Issa Diop last summer. That's nothing against Diop, from my perspective he's very good at what he can do- which in essence is be a "proper" defender and for certain games and scenarios that's exactly what we need. But he does have his limitations, which are very obvious for anyone with eyes- and given Diop is going into the last year of his contract now we basically just need to take whatever we can get for him. It can't hurt his value if he has a good World Cup, seeing as one thing that's changed since last years preview is that Diop is Moroccan now. 

Harrison Reed

Harrison Reed is in the same boat as Diop in the sense that we should have been selling him last summer with two years left on his contract (assuming we won't activate the option in his contract)- but I suppose everything happens for a reason and if we had sold Harrison Reed last summer we probably don't have arguably the moment of the season with the goal against Liverpool. 

We do have an option on Reed's deal, so in effect we could have another two years, but to be blunt I don't think there's much point activating it for the amount of game time Reed gets- and just the fact Reed probably isn't good enough these days beyond the occasional cup game. As is the case with Diop I think it's just a case of taking what we can get with Reed and moving on- and there should definitely be suitors in the Championship for him. 

Benjamin Lecomte

If we sign a new backup Keeper, and we should, then Lecomte will obviously become surplus to requirements. Like I said right at the start of this marathon preview, I think Lecomte has done the job he was asked to do this season. I highlighted last year the need for our "cup keeper" to be someone who can save penalties after Steven Benda's outing at Deepdale- and Lecomte came good when it mattered against Wycombe. But age-wise and just overall ability and size-wise, Lecomte just isn't going to challenge Leno for the #1 spot- and we need someone who will. 

Marco Silva

If the Newcastle game is the end of Marco Silva's tenure as Fulham manager then at least we ended with a win. For as significant as Silva's been to the club over the last 5 years, if the final goal of his reign is the sort of trademark Tom Cairney goal then it feels like a fitting way to end it. And what a reign it's been. I can understand the frustration I've seen a lot over the last couple of months, and when you see newly promoted Sunderland qualifying for the Europa League ahead of us it does sting. But in the bigger picture I don't think you can underestimate just how good of a job Silva's done for us. 

I always say Football is about memories, and Silva has delivered some of my all time favourite memories supporting Fulham. A decade from now we're not going to be looking back saying "remember that time we finished 11th", but we are going to look back and remember Mitrovic's scoring the 7th against Luton. We're going to remember Mitrovic's late winner against Brentford. We're going to remember beating Chelsea for the first time in over 15 years. We're going to remember Iwobi's winner at Old Trafford. We're going to remember Wilson's late double against Brentford. We're going to remember Muniz at Stamford Bridge. We're going to remember Harrison Reed against Liverpool. This is what Football is about, and for half a decades worth of kicking a ball around I'd say that's a pretty good return. 

Has Silva been perfect? Of course not. Do I wish we could actually be a competitive football club in the run in of a season? Of course. I think when Silva looks back on his Fulham career his main regret will probably be not getting the chance to take us to Wembley, especially when we came close so many times. In fact I think this season was the only one since we've been in the Premier League under Silva where we haven't been one game off a Wembley trip. In general I think that can sum up why I know some people are ready to move on from Silva this summer though. It just feels like we're destined to be the "almost" team under him. We almost got to Wembley, we almost qualified for Europe and "almost" can get old very quickly. 

For what it's worth, if it was entirely up to me I'd want Silva to stay next season. Like I said he's not perfect, but he's got us competing at a level we've not seen us competing at for such a long time. The only Premier League team we haven't beaten with Silva in charge is Man City, which to me is remarkable given how we'd fared against the traditional big clubs prior to Silva. Considering the rebuild we're going to have to do this summer, there isn't many realistic options out there who I'd rather have than Silva to be blunt. In simple terms, I'm not really sure it gets better for us than what we've had over the last half a decade. 

The Khans have been in charge for well over a decade at this point. In their tenure we've had 8 permanent managers- and the only one to find any sort of success in the Premier League under them has been Marco Silva. If we actually behaved like a serious football club, got signings in early and let Silva have a proper pre-season with them who knows what difference that could make to our overall outlook. As it is, I think that point is probably the main sticking point for Silva. If we were trying to convince Silva to stay, not spending a penny until Deadline Day last summer probably wasn't the best sales pitch. If Silva is to stay I'd imagine he'd be demanding some sort of guarantee over transfers and the promptness of said transfers- because at times it feels like he's having to fight with one hand tied behind his back. 

As it is, I do think the full-time whistle against Newcastle brought Silva's Fulham career to an end. Whether it's Benfica or someone else, I think Silva's ready to move on- and I'm sure there's people in the fanbase who will be looking to move on now as well and hope the grass is greener. But much like a lot of people said in relation to David Moyes and West Ham fans- I do think it could very much be a case of "be careful what you wish for". We could be in West Ham's shoes in the very near future if a lot of right decisions aren't made over the summer- and to be blunt I have very little confidence in the people who will be making those decisions. 

Manager

For as much as I've loved Silva being our manager, the world will keep spinning after he's left- and we need to get his replacement through the door as soon as humanly possible. None of what I've talked about in this preview matters until we know who's in charge next season. I've hedged my bets and tried to cover a lot of bases- but until we know what manager and style we're going to have next season there's not much point trying to recruit players. 

My first choice for Silva's replacement, by quite some distance, is current Olympiacos manager Jose Luis Mendilibar. The last manager we had with Olympiacos on their CV turned out alright after all. Stylistically Mendilibar and Silva aren't very similar, but I think for the sort of club we are being a successful Olympiacos manager makes you a pretty good fit. We'll have some games where we need to be on the front foot and attack, as is the case with 99% of Olympiacos' league games- but you also have to be adaptable and be willing to set up defensively to have any success in the Champions League as one of the weaker teams in the competition. 

Mendilibar really stands out to me in that sense because not only has he picked up some respectable results in the Champions League, but as the manager of a non English team he managed to win the Conference League with Olympiacos- beating Aston Villa along the way and any non English team winning the Conference League is very impressive given the finance difference. Having that experience of winning trophies has to be a factor in our managerial recruitment this summer for me- because that ultimately has to be the goal. I'm not saying it'll be easy, but if everything aligns as it did for Palace last year- having someone who has the know how to get it over the line like Glasner did can make all the difference. 

Mendilbar is currently employed, and especially with "Mr Marinakis" at the helm he might not be the easiest manager in the world to get out of his contract- so it's definitely worth looking at other options as well. Raffaele Palladino is someone I mentioned last year as a potential Silva replacement, and I think the perfect illustration of why I rate his managerial ability is the season he had with Fiorentina last year, and then the season Fiorentina had this year after his resignation. 

Palladino has had a job in between, taking charge of Atalanta when they realised giving the keys to Ivan Juric after he'd flopped at Southampton wasn't the smartest decision straight after losing their best ever manager Gasperini. For the most part, barring an absolute battering by Bayern Munich, Palladino's managed to steady the ship in Bergamo without hitting the heights they might have hoped he would or they were used to under Gasperini. Perhaps as a result of that, as of writing, while not official, Palladino seems like he's going to be getting sacked by Atalanta with them appointing Maurizio Sarri as his replacement. That makes Palladino a very tempting proposition for me, I really like him as a coach and I think the way he sets his teams up suits a club like ours perfectly. 

The challenge will just be to get Palladino out of Italy, because I feel like every top Italian coach ends up managing every top Italian club at some point in their careers- and there are jobs going at Lazio, Milan and Napoli as an absolute minimum this summer. Another top Italian coach I'd be interested in is Vincenzo Italiano at Bologna, yes that is his real name- but given he'd require compensation (assuming Palladino is sacked) there's a very clear preference for me.

Looking a bit closer to home now, depending on what the Khans actually want from their new manager, I think Nuno Espirito Santo might end up ticking a lot of boxes. As of writing it's being reported that Nuno is going to be sacked following West Ham's relegation, and given we seemingly have quite favourable links to Jorge Mendes I feel like Nuno will end up very high in our thinking. He wouldn't be my first choice, but he is a very good manager, despite West Ham's relegation- and with a full pre-season I don't have any doubt in my mind that Nuno would comfortably keep us up next season as an absolute minimum. And I feel like the Khans see safety as enough, despite my talk of trophies earlier, and in that respect Nuno is very much the safe option both style wise and also having a lot of Premier League experience under his belt.

I've looked at quite a few other options as well. If we don't want to pay compensation, the other four names that made my shortlist are Adi Hutter, Carles Martinez Novell, Marcelo Gallardo and someone I've seen fans mention a few times already Filipe Luis. If we don't mind paying compensation, an additional four managers I'd like us to consider are Carlos Corberan (Valencia), Danny Rohl (Rangers), Eric Roy (Brest) and our former goalkeeper coach, currently plying his trade at Famalicao Hugo Oliveira.

If you've made it this far I salute you. Thanks for reading these transfer blogs as always. I'm sure you can probably tell just by the length and depth I go into with these that I still really enjoy writing and "scouting" them- and hopefully you can at least potentially learn some new names from leagues you might not otherwise even pay attention to or even be aware of. As I said right from the start, my sort of attitude to club football right now is very much "I need a break". We've got the small matter of a World Cup this summer and before we know it we'll be back at the Cottage to do it all over again. And literally nobody can honestly say they know what we'll be seeing in a black and white shirt- which is equal parts intriguing and terrifying. Thanks again for reading, hopefully it comes home- and hopefully next season can be a good one.