What is it with Fulham signing free agents? Sometimes people say that free agents are nothing but the players who nobody else wants, so why do Fulham have a knack of signing them? Midfielder Diarra and striker Petric are two recent signings that we got for nothing and, let’s be honest, no one can deny the quality of either player. Diarra joined us in January and make several solid performances in the centre of mid field. He has a lot of experience playing at the highest level with Real Madrid and Lyon. He added an extra bit of quality to our side whenever some players where perhaps getting tired after our very early start in the Europa League.
Diarra in action for Fulham after his free transfer
Petric is a player who we know is great but we haven’t yet seen what he is going to do in a Fulham shirt. Although with the departures of Pavel Pogrebnyak, Orlando Sa and Andrew Johnson, we could assume that Petric is expected to be an important player for us next season. I think that the business that Jol in particular does regarding free agents is intelligent. He gets quality for nothing meaning that still has money to spend on perhaps younger players who can also make a big impact and for longer term.
There are a number of players who have recently been made available for free transfers who I think Fulham would be doing very well to sign. Glasgow Rangers have found themselves without a large majority of their senior players because of all that has been happening at the club regarding money. Big names including Steven Davis, Steven Naismith and Allan McGregor have all refused to join the Newco Rangers and have now become free agents. Many of you will remember Steven Davis from s previous time at Fulham and I have to say that he is one of the players who I was gutted to have seen leaving the club at all. He is a superb player and as we are in need of a central midfielder to attempt to replace Murphy, a return of Davis would be something that would excite me.
Davis has also been a vital player for Northern Ireland
Steven Naismith is a guy who I have watched for several years at Rangers and he is another fine player who I would imagine would relish the chance to play in the Premier League. He scored 13 goals in all competitions last season which is a decent return for any player considering he was injured for most of it! However, Everton look the closest to be signing the Scotland international but if that turns out to be transfer gossip, I wouldn’t mind seeing him in a Fulham shirt!
To me, signing free agents is nothing to be sniffed at as they give the club a chance to add quality to the side without having to spend anything. It also means that if the signings don’t work out then disgruntled fans can’t have a go at the manager talking about a waste of money. I honestly believe that Jol knows what he is doing. Some of the decisions being made may seem quite strange to us at the minute but I think by the end of the transfer window, we will happy with what Jol has added to the squad and excited for what the new season has in store for us!
Mark Schwatzer was free as well so lets keep on looking at that avenue I say.
As a fan of both Rangers and Fulham, I have mixed emotions on this. At the end of the day, I think these free agents will not be completely “free,” as they are assets of the company that was purchased-in-liquidation. But they’ll be cheap. Davis and Naismith would both be very successful at Fulham, and we certainly have a need for the latter.
The term ‘free’ just equates to avoiding an outlay on transfer fee and, whilst this saving is sure to be offset by higher wages, it probably makes the overall package more attractive
The trick is clearly to find players undervalued for one or a combination of reasons such as club finances, injury, not being managed properly, playing in less lucrative leagues, out of contract, etc