I here very reliable source close to rd we are showing an interest in him any good Fulham fans worth 3m and can he do a job for us if he moves to se7?
I think Hugo could go for the right fee - nearer 5 than 3. Ross showed last year that he can play right up front (he may prefer it); we have Woodrow, Roberts, Williams, LVC, Ruiz as AM or second forwards. Matt Smith to return and Dembele as alternatives for out and out strikers. I know Hugo is in form and knocking them in (and I think he's a lovely bloke) but is he good enough and young enough for the prem - which may be at least a year away?
If this is true then it's a tricky one, One way to look at it is Rodders is our top scorer in great form at the moment has been huge in our recent turn around and at the moment is one of the first names on the team sheet, he is also a fans favourite due to his work rate and effort. Though you could look at it as Rodders is 30 next year, he is on £70,000 a week prob the highest in the division and despite a great work ethic scores one of probably three decent chances he gets a game. I personally would keep him but i could fully understand why the club might think seriously about selling him for an offer of £3 million. It all depends on Kit and whether he has anyone to in mind to replace him if he has a player in mind he rates highly who we could get for the same or cheaper price then it should be considered. I would also speak to Rodders about salary maybe saying that we want him to stay but can't have a player on £70,000 a week in the championship and see if he is willing to renegotiate
It's hard to be critical of the team's leading goal scorer, but I still don't think Hugo should be a regular starter for us. He works hard, unlike some of our strikers in recent years, but his finishing isn't good enough - he should score more than he does - and his off the ball movement costs him and his team mates goal scoring opportunities. If Kit has a replacement in mind (Taggart? Maybe; Smith? Probably not; a new singing? Who knows?) I'd be very happy to see us take the right offer for Hugo.
What is Hugo's contract situation? If he were to be out of contract at the end of this season then £3m could well be seen as a fair offer for a player like him who only has 6 months left on his contract. If not then £3m in nowhere near enough, closer to £5m-£6m I'd say. I'd rather we kept Hugo for now anyway, I know other attacking options have been mentioned here like Woodrow, Dembele and Smith (when he come back from his loan) but to me Hugo and McCormack at the moment are our only senior and proven strikers. Kit may well get money to bring in new faces in January but I still don't see the need to sell our top scorer at this stage of the season.
Hugo is out of contract end of season. If the offer is right I'd take it. Been good this season, I still think we'd score goals without him. However he's said it before and recently he loves it at Fulham and Kit's got no complaints. I personally think we'll give him another year in January.
Hugo has had a good partnership with McCormack this season, and I think that's what he needs, with Bent and Berbatov in the team you had players who he never clicked with, when he first came it looked Petric and him would click, but then Berbatov came and the Jol's Blue eyed boy could do no wrong and Hugo got shoved out to the wing and Petric dropped, most games.
I saw a good stat at the weekend, that the only players who've scored more Championship goals than Hugo have played at least 4 more games. He's not always the most clinical - he should have tucked away the second chance he had on Saturday - but he's also scored a few that others wouldn't. His pace and strength at this level will always cause problems. He's a man in form, he's getting in the right positions, and will finish the season on a minimum of 20 goals. He's also had a fair few assists. I really don't see why we'd sell.
I think the ins and outs will greatly depend on how the chairman will interpret the £ signs he may see in front of him
Wonder how much Financial Fair play will come into it. Blackburn, Leeds and Nottingham Forest have been given transfer embargoes for the rest of the season for breaching Financial Fair Play rules. Wonder if we will have to lose players on high wages. So I guess £3m from Charlton instead of a free in the summer might help balance books but you have to wonder why we'd sell a striker on form. Next thing you know they will be saying we are selling McCormack and Ruiz as well
I think we did a good job of balancing the books in the summer. If we had a problem, we'd be in the list of clubs with a transfer embargo. There might be an issue of selling in order to get a fee rather than lose him for nothing, but I think the bigger issue is the one I raised before: is he the best we can get in that position. Despite his goals, I really don't think he is. I don't mind at all if he stays, but I wouldn't mind him going as long as we have a better replacement in place first.
Captain, are the recent financial reports not for last season??? And it will be this time next year that we know if we have abided by the rules??
We should be contracting Hugo now. The guy is well motivated, is scoring goals and has a working partnership with Ross (AliMac has just scotched the rumour of Ross leaving) - the sort of pairing we've not seen for a while at The Cottage. Cauley is trying hard but has a lot to learn, as has Patrick Roberts, Moussa etc. I'm not worried about FFC making the Prem next year - Thanks to Penfold we have precious little chance (frankly I'd be ok with that and start next season as a real contender for automatic promotion).
Although he deserves credit for his effort and goals this season I don't see him as a vital player. With the exception of one goal I'd say most strikers would have put away the chances he has been given and some would probably have scored more. He's benefitted from a good run with some stability in what he's been asked to do. If his wage wasn't so high (I'd have put it at 40k rather than 70k, if that is a correct figure then I'm shocked) then i would want to extend as a squad player, but that's too much for us to spend for what we get - same with Ruiz.
You could be right about the timing, Cookie, but I think we trimmed an awful lot of big earners from the wage bill last summer. I would be very surprised if we are in a position where we have to sell anyone in January to avoid FFP problems. We might have to sell one or more rising stars because their heads are turned by offers from big clubs, but that's a different issue. Do any of our financial experts have more insight to offer on this one?
Silk, I believe it was to do with the fact that he was signed on a free transfer, I remember reading somewhere that his wages were £40,000 a week and the other £35,000 was his signing on fee that instead of paying in a lump sum we incorporated it over his contract. Unfortunately players on a free who are in demand can request a 2/3 million fee due to the buying club saving on a transfer fee
