Summer Window Watch; Fulham - Week 1

Fulham have to wait until the weekend to have their summer shopping list plastered all over the newspapers. Saturday’s Daily Mail (July 4) says they will splash £10million on Peter Crouch from Portsmouth. The England man has been making noises about a departure from Fratton Park ever since Jermain Defoe moved back to Tottenham Hotspur. The debate about whether Fulham fit the bill in terms of a forward step is there to be had, but any club willing to spend that amount of money on an England international cannot be accused of lacking ambition.

Yet if the Daily Star on Sunday are to be believed (July 5) then Roy Hodgson faces a little competition. Sunderland and…….wait for it and don’t spill your drink………….AC Milan are thought to be in the race to sign the former Liverpool, Southampton, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers (have I missed anyone out?) man. The prospect of Crouch turning out for another multiple European Cup winner must be galling for the myriad of skilful rejects thrown out of football in their teens for being ’too small’. And quite frightening for Milan fans too.

Crouch’s altogether more realistic and sensible arrival at Craven Cottage could be hastened by the departure of Bobby Zamora. The striker is the subject of interest from Hull City who, the News of the World say, are keeping ’tabs’ on him. What this means exactly is unclear, but clearly nobody really wants Phil Brown following them around for too long.

By Stephen Orford

6 July 2009