It seems as though the Stefan Payne rumour was spot on after all.
Fulham have agreed a fee with Sutton United for the striker and finalised terms with the player but the deal now depends on Payne passing a stringent medical.
Sutton manager Paul Doswell said:
Fulham tend to do more than just a straight medical. The deal is all agreed, it is just a case of Stefan getting through the tests. As with all these things everything has got to be right for the player and the clubs concerned.
Sutton won’t be counting their chickens after Fulham’s move for Ben Wright fell through when the striker failed a medical last year. Wright ended up joining Peterborough, but Fulham will be keen to sign Payne, who has scored nine goals in 14 appearances since joining Sutton from Croydon in the summer. Doswell hinted that the two clubs have been working to finalise the transfer for the past two weeks.
Should Payne pass his MRI scan satisfactorily, he will loaned back to Sutton until January. The striker, who has just turned 18, was at Motspur Park on Monday and is expected to complete the switch on Wednesday.
Interesting. Maybe a star for the future?
But then again maybe another player who will never fully reach his potential. We seem to be very good at finding players for the day after the day after that, but not so good at finding players for now.
If it happens though good luck to him.
Did Wright fail a medical? I thought Hodgson had just decided he would be better served by playing at a club where the opportunities would be more forthcoming.