I'm somewhat sad to see him leave - would prefer a lower fee for him now with some potential further payments made on the basis of national team appearances and/or goals/assists for Galatasaray so that if he does turn out to be a superstar we have some stake in it.
It's being widely reported in Turkey as well - "Galatasaray are on the verge of signing Fulham starlet Kerim Frei according to Turkish newspaper, Takvim. The Lions are rumoured to have offered Fulham â¬2.5 million and reached a five-year agreement with the 19-year-old. Galatasaray have made it a priority to sign Turkish players as they are facing pressure for foreign spaces. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) will only permit 10 foreign players per-club in the 2013-14 season and allow six foreign players on the field at any one time. Galatasaray currently have 10 non-Turkish players on their books. The Lions have been scouting Frei for over a year and club president Ãnal Aysal speaking on Lig TV said, "We are interested in Kerim Frei" Because of injuries and whatever he's dropped a way down the pecking order but like others I think it'd be a shame if we sold him. Much prefer to see him go on loan. What is a bit strange, if his move is imminent, is that he played the full 90 minutes against Limassol on Tuesday. Maybe not so strange, but he was also training at Motspur Park today.
PEC Zwolle is aiming to sign 19 year old Dino Islamovic. The Swedish Fulham striker was on trial in the past weeks and impressed the coaches at the club. Voetbal International had an interview with PEC Technical Director Gerard Nijkamp: "He is very young and he is not a direct addition to the squad. But we will do anything to get him to sign a contract with us. He is has potential and we are looking to the long term picture with him."
For me i think Dino is a much better prospect than Frei, i would like to know the views of Cottager who has watched him as much as me if not more.
Well, theyâre different in style. Dino Islamovic is more direct, certainly has an eye for goal and, in my view, is more of a team player. Interestingly Dino played for the Fulham XI against Limassol on Tuesday whereas Woodrow and Tankovic were the preferred strikers for the U21 side against Notts Forest today. Not sure what to read into that - is Dino stepping up to squad level or is he down the pecking order to the other two in the U21s? OR, it could simply mean we have 3 damn good U21 youngsters and they will be rotated. For what itâs worth I think Dino is better than Cauley and just ahead of the Tank. However, as Iâve mentioned before, there is a âbulgeâ of players at this age group and unfortunately some will have to move on. To be honest for any of the 20ish year olds, if Jol hasnât already marked their card now is the time to go. [Rosc, thereâs a whole debate here about Jolâs attitude to the Academy system and including him sending players out on loan. But thatâs best left for another forum.] Anyway, to answer your question. Frei of course also played against Limassol and ideally Iâd keep both. But if it came to a choice ⦠Iâd go for Dino. Mainly because heâll get you more goals but also because heâs the more rounded footballer of the two.
QPR are touting their players and apparently we have shown an interest in Esteban Granero. please log in to view this image "Fulham have made an enquiry about QPRâs Esteban Granero. Midfielder Granero, who is wanted by Spanish clubs Real Betis and Real Sociedad, is expected to leave Loftus Road before the transfer window closes. The Râs would be happy to let him join their west London neighbours and have informed Fulham that Stephane Mbia is also available. Rangers want to sell Mbia, bought from Marseille in January, and have received a number of approaches for him but are holding out for more money. Granero, 26, a flagship signing a year ago, has failed to impress since arriving from Real Madrid and would welcome another chance in the Premier League." Source: http://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/fulham-show-interest-in-qpr-midfielder
Had a look at the recently updated squad list and was surprised to see Diarra still there, his profile says "he is currently with the Club as he continues his rehabilitation." There must still be hope that he might return and re-sign a contract with the likelihood no other club will take him whilst he is injured- I'd love to see him fit and in the squad because he is a quality player.
i disagree, bad injury and age against him now. I'd release personally. Enoh is a better bet, I know he's expensive but in that its investment.
I think he might already have been released and we're either no paying him or he's on a monthly rolling contract now or he isn't being paid but is getting free treatment or he isn't getting paid and is paying fulham to continue his rehab rather than going elsewhere. I liked Enoh and would be happy to see him join but with Diarra there would be no transfer fee.
Stories are coming in from Italy saying that the agent of Walter Gargano is in London for talks - ”The agent of Napoli midfielder Walter Gargano is in London in order to seal a move to Fulham. The 29-year-old spent last season on loan at Inter, but the Nerazzurri opted not to exercise their option on the Uruguayan. As a result, he returned to Napoli this summer but it does not appear as though new coach Rafa Benitez is keen to hold onto him for the upcoming season with Fulham the favourites to land the Paysandu native. “His agent is in London to talk directly with Fulham,” Gianluca Di Marzio stated on Sky Sport. “They have already shown their interest in Gargano last week, as he is awaiting a new adventure.” Source: http://forzaitalianfootball.com/2013/08/agent-of-napoli-midfielder-in-london-for-talks-with-fulham/ That would be consistent with Jol’s recent statement the “the other” player hasn’t played in the premiership. Elsewhere, Roma are desparate to offload Pablo Osvaldo. They’ve signed Gervinho for £8m (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23625938) and are said to be keen on Nani but need funds. As we know from the earlier non-transfer saga with Stekelenburg, Roma tend to play hard ball but now that they are getting the players they want may loosen up a bit on the fee for Osvaldo. However, I suspect that for us he’s gone past his sell by date and still too costly.
I've never heard of Gargano up to this point so probably unfair to make a judgement but it does worry me that two teams don't want him. Also concerned that he is referred to as a midfield enforcer in articles I've skimmed through- would prefer a creative mid as we've got a couple enforcers already.
Another Home one - reports from Norway say that we are preparing to offload JAR, possibly as a free transfer. " After experiencing the Manager wants Fulham to reduce salary costs. Therefore london team willing to let go Riise, although he is one of the club's most accomplished players. - Yes, it looks like I will part with Fulham in the summer, says Riise to the Manager." Source (and a liitle bit more about what JAR said): http://www.nettavisen.no/sport/fotball/article3660439.ece Not at all surprising given last season's fall out and that he has barely featured this pre-season. And with Briggs going on loan, surely this means we'll be bringing in a new left back. Alexander Buttner of Man Utd on loan??
Great shout on buttner - reckon we would have to play 3 central defenders to allow the two wing backs to bomb forward as I suspect both would do it anyway if we played 442 and leave us a bit exposed - we might even suit that system better with Boateng holding and four from our forward players in a diamond ahead of him.
If Gargano signs, may I ask what the point of keeping Diarra/Karagounis was? I'd much prefer our central midfielders to be Gargano/Taarabt/Sidwell/Boateng/Kasami. That's more than good enough.
we need another papa bouba diop, to run the midfielder he was class in a crap team, but these Africans don't last two long
Well, letting Diarra regain fitness with us costs us nothing. As for Karagounis, he's cheap and I'd much rather our youngsters were exposed to his work ethic (and that of Riether) rather than Berba and Taarabt.
In that case why not just give him a coaching role? There are plenty of 'triers' in the team. Sidwell, Boateng, Rodallega etc all have good work ethic.
