Fulham have joined forces with Belgian First Division club Germinal Beerschot, a deal which means Fulham can park their non-EU players until they gain EU citizenship.
Fulham have been searching Belgium for a club to send their non-EU players for some time now, and chose Belgium because it only takes three years to gain Belgian citizenship, making it easier to obtain UK citizenship.
Germinal Beerschot, nicknamed De Ratten (the Rats), were only formed as a club in 1999, when Germinal Ekeren and Beerschot merged into one club to raise attendances and get Beerschot, then of the Belgian third division, out of debt.
Fulham have already sent Ghanaian youngsters King Gyan Osei and Daniel Owusu on loan to Beerschot, and will be looking to send further players there in the future, but none have so far been identified as possible moves.
The deal also means that Fulham will get first refusal on any of Beerschot’s talents should someone make a bid for them.
A small delegation of Fulham representatives travelled to Kiel to thrash out a deal that could see both players and members of the coaching staff switch between the clubs to gain valuable experience abroad.
