Fulham manager Chris Coleman has reassured fans he will be spending money during the transfer window.
New Zealand midfielder Simon Elliott is the only new arrival so far, with the 31-year-old completing his free transfer from Major League Soccer outfit Columbus Crew on Friday.
Fulham have been crippled by injuries with Papa Bouba Diop, Steed Malbranque, Carlos Bocanegra, Claus Jensen and Moritz Volz out for most of the last month.
The lack of numbers has reinforced Coleman’s view that his squad needs strengthening and after last month expressing his fears he might not be in a position to buy any new players, he revealed he has been given a transfer fund.
“We’ve got money to spend in January so we’re not looking around for Bosmans and free transfers. If we can get one or two of them then great, but there’s also cash in the pot,” he said.
Fulham chairman Mohamed Al Fayed will no longer dip into his personal fortune to finance new signings and this reluctance has attracted criticism from disgruntled supporters.
But Coleman has reminded fans how far Fulham have come and the vast outlay Al Fayed made to take the club into the Premiership.
“This is our fifth year in the Premiership and five years before that we were in the bottom division,” he said.
“It’s bonkers, but goes to show the commitment of the chairman has made to the club.
“We wouldn’t have got where we are without the investment from the chairman, but that gets forgotten because we’ve not spent money in the last few years and have had to slow down a little bit.”
Fulham have been linked with moves for Celtic midfielder Stilian Petrov and Tottenham’s former Craven Cottage favourite Sean Davis, but Coleman is reluctant to talk about either player.
“Stilian is a good player and I expect a lot of managers would be interested in him, but I won’t comment on players at other clubs,” he said.
“Again Sean is a good player. I don’t know what Tottenham want to do with him. We haven’t made any enquiries.
“We don’t know if he’s available. One or two noises have been made but there has been no contact.”
