Fulham head coach Rene Meulensteen has admitted he was surprised to lose Dimitar Berbatov on transfer deadline day as he faces up to the “biggest challenge” of his career in steering the club clear of relegation.
And despite the boost of completing a club-record deal for Olympiakos striker Kostas Mitroglou, former Manchester United coach Meulensteen conceded that Monaco’s late bid for Berbatov was unexpected.
“It was [a surprise],” he told reporters. “I kept saying to you all that there hadn’t been any offers. It wasn’t a last-minute change of mind with Dimitar because there hadn’t been any offers. He was a Fulham player and he wanted to be a Fulham player. When those things suddenly come you’re going to weigh things up.
“Obviously the player makes his desire to take the opportunity clear and you can’t stand in the way of that. That’s done, we have added some really good faces ourselves and hopefully they can bring something to the team that will liven the place up.”
