Brede backs Jol's new signings - and is delighted to have had a few weeks off
Brede Hangeland believes Fulham’s pair of new forwards can provide the firepower to propel Martin Jol’s side further up the table as the Whites prepare for their domestic campaign with a pre-season tour of Germany.
The Norwegian centre back, who will succeed Danny Murphy as club captain, also feels that Fulham will benefit from a more conventional start to their summer having been involved in European competition for the past two years. The Whites begin their warm-up with a first friendly against HB Køge in Leipizig this afternoon and Hangeland has high hopes for the forthcoming captain after Jol was able to add Hugo Rodallega and Mladen Petric to the squad, effectively replacing the outgoing Andy Johnson and Pavel Pogrebnyak, without paying a penny in transfer fees.
We’re happy to have them both here. They are good players with a good track record. I remember Mladen as a good player – I’ve played against him when he has represented Croatia. He’s a talented player who knows how to find the back of the net. So he will be a good signing for us.
The 31 year-old centre back says the players are raring to go again after recovering from a 55-game season that began with the early Europa League qualifiers last June.
We appreciated having a bit longer off this year. Last year it felt like I didn’t really have a break so we’ve had a good rest from football and now we’re ready to go again.
The Sunday Mirror article which carries some of these quotes from an interview that Hangeland gave the club’s website on Friday also claims that Fulham ‘are also confident of holding on to Liverpool transfer target Clint Dempsey’.
