Former Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has been made a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
The ex-England manager, 73, has received his honour in recognition of his services to football. Hodgson, who left Crystal Palace at the end of last season, memorably led Fulham out of a relegation battle after taking over at Craven Cottage from Lawrie Sanchez to the final of the Europa League in 2010. He also achieved Fulham’s highest ever top flight finish.
Fulham have turned down a £16m offer from Dynamo Moscow for Aleksandar Mitrovic, according to the Sun.
The Cottagers are adamant that the Serbian striker is not for sale even after Scott Parker’s side were relegated from the top flight. The Fulham hierarchy want to keep Mitrovic, who proved so prolific in the Championship in 2019/20 scoring 26 goals, to spearhead their attempt to make an immediate return to the top flight.
But the tabloid claims that Mitrovic is keen to leave Craven Cottage after making just thirteen starts as the Whites went down – with Ivan Cavaleiro often preferred by Parker as a lone striker. There are no shortage of suitors for the 26 year-old who is known to be admired by new Roma boss Jose Mourinho and the West Ham manager David Moyes.
Mitrovic, who has scored 53 goals in 151 appearances for Fulham since joining from Newcastle in January 2018, still has three years to run on his current contract in west London.
A clutch of Premier League clubs are plotting a summer swoop for Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo, who can leave Craven Cottage for £10m.
The 23 year-old centre half was one of Scott Parker’s most impressive performers as the Cottagers slipped out of the top flight having helped shore up the Fulham defence alongside Joachim Andersen. Adarabioyo is available for £10m until July 8th under the terms of the contract he signed when he decided to leave Manchester City for London last summer.
The ball-playing centre back, who made 33 appearances for Fulham last term, has no shortage of admirers in the top flight. Mikel Arteta, who worked with the defender when he was assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City is known to rate him highly and could take him to Arsenal. Newly-promoted Norwich City have been credited with an interest in bolstering their backline with Adarabioyo, while the Daily Mail also lists Newcastle as one of the sides monitoring the situation.
Fulham defenders Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson both started as the United States put four past Costa Rica in their friendly in Utah this evening.
Robinson played a part in the USA’s first goal when he crossed for Daryl Dike, whose shot bounced back off a defender and Brenden Aaronson fired home the loose ball. The Fulham left back played 82 minutes before being substituted. Ream lasted the full ninety minutes at centre back.
Dike, Reggie Cannon and Giovanni Reyna rounded off the scoring as Gregg Berhalter’s side, who won the inaugural Concacaf Nations League in dramatic fashion on Sunday, claimed their third successive victory.
Bournemouth’s failure to earn promotion to the Premier League is likely to cost them the chance of appointing Scott Parker as their new manager, according to a report from the Sun tonight.
Speculation has linked the Cherries with an audacious bid to lure Fulham boss Parker to the south coast. It is not the first time that Bournemouth have coveted the former England captain – he was on their shortlist to replace Eddie Howe last August but Fulham’s promotion from the Championship scuppered that plan. The Sun suggests that Parker was tempted to jump ship when it looked like Bournemouth might swap divisions with Fulham earlier this year, but with the two teams now due to be Championship rivals, the Dean Court job is not quite as attractive.
Parker still has two years to run on his contract at Craven Cottage and faced questions about his stewardship of the side following Fulham’s relegation after they failed to win a game in the last two months of the season.
Leeds are keen to sign Fulham midfielder Harrison Reed this summer, according to the Daily Mail.
The combative midfielder impressed at the heart of Scott Parker’s midfield even though the Cottagers were relegation from the top flight. Reed, who joined Fulham for £6m from Southampton last summer after a successful loan spell at Craven Cottage, made 33 appearances last season having shaken off early injuries to become a key member of the side.
The 26 year-old has spoken of his desire to stay with the club and help Fulham bounce back to the Premier League at the first attempt, but the lure of immediate top flight football – as well as working with Marcelo Bielsa – may prove too strong. Reed has three years to run on his current contract – with the club holding an option to extend that deal by a further year.
Fenerbahce have tabled a loan offer for Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, according to reports from Turkey.
The Istanbul giants want to take the Serbian forward on loan, with a £6.8m option to buy. The Turkish newspaper Calendar claims that Fener have offered Mitrovic a basic salary of around £2.6m a year, which would increase with bonuses.
It remains to be seen how Fulham will respond to this offer. Mitrovic, who has scored 53 goals in 131 games at Craven Cottage since initially moving on loan in from Newcastle in January 2018, endured a difficult season as the Whites went were relegated from the Premier League. He scored just four goals in 31 appearances, was frequently left out by Scott Parker and missed the decisive penalty as Serbia missed out on the European Championships, losing a play-off shootout to Scotland.
The Turkish press claim that the 26 year-old does not wish to play in the Championship, having previously won promotion twice with Fulham, and is ‘certain’ to move on this summer.
Young American full back Marlon Fossey has put pen to paper on a new two-year contract at Craven Cottage.
The 22 year-old has endured a couple of horrendously injury-ravaged seasons and his impressive start to life on loan with Shrewsbury earlier this term was cut short by a knee problem. Fossey did return to the under-23 set up at the end of the season, playing in their 1-0 win over West Brom, and was delighted to commit his future to Fulham.
He told the club’s official website:
“I’m really appreciative that they have confidence in me and I’m grateful that I’m going to be around people and players for the next two years that I’ve learnt a hell of a lot from. I aim to work as hard as I can to better myself as a player.
It was difficult because no footballer wants to spend the majority of the season on the sidelines. I learnt a lot from it in terms of how to look after my body better and function better. I’m going to do everything within my power to make sure I put my body in a good position to play a full season.
The attacking right back, who won eleven caps for America’s under-20 side, is now setting his sights on forcing his way into Scott Parker’s plans.
“Every young player has the aim of playing for the first team, and I’m going to put myself in the best position to get to that point as soon as possible”
Napoli are interested in signing the Fulham midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, according to reports in Italy this evening.
Tuttosport suggests that Napoli are lining up a move for the Cameroonian international after Tiemoue Bakayoko returned to Chelsea at the end of his loan spell. Anguissa is expected to leave Craven Cottage this summer following Fulham’s relegation from the Premier League, but the powerful midfielder’s reputation has been enhanced by a much better season than his first year with the club in 2018.
Boosted by a successful season on loan at Villareal while Fulham were in the Championship, Anguissa one of the Premier League’s leading dribblers during this campaign before he was struck down with coronavirus in the middle of the season. The former Marseille midfielder made 36 appearances for Scott Parker’s side this season, providing three assists. He scored his first international goal in Cameroon’s victory over Nigeria on Friday night.
Fulham are one of a number of Championship clubs competing to sign Motherwell midfielder Allan Campbell this summer, according to Football Insider.
The Scottish midfielder will soon be a free agent after deciding to leave Fir Park at the end of his current contract and Fulham have joined Luton, Millwall and Peterborough in the race for the 22 year-old’s signature. Campbell has also been linked with a switch to Hibernian and Aberdeen as he contemplates his future having made 163 appearances since breaking into the Motherwell first team back in 2016.
Campbell, who helped Motherwell to two successive domestic Cup finals in 2017 where they were beaten by Celtic, has won 24 caps for Scotland at under-21 level, scoring one goal. Motherwell will be entitled to a development fee having brought the tough-tackling midfielder through their academy set-up and it remains to be seen where one of the brightest talents in Scottish football will be heading next. He made 40 appearances for Motherwell this season, scoring five goals.
Fulham will be seeking midfield reinforcements this summer as they plan for an immediate return to the Premier League after being relegated last season.