Summer Window Watch; Fulham - Week 2

Beefing up the attack is still high on the list of Roy Hodgson’s priorities at Fulham. The much-travelled boss has, according to Monday’s Times (July 6) set his sights on signing Pawel Brozek from Polish outfit Wisla Krakow.

The 26-year-old has 14 caps for Poland, scoring twice, and could be available to the Craven Cottage club for around £3.5million. Joining him could be former Liverpool favourite Luis Garcia. The Times also has it that the thumb-sucking star could be headed for a move back to England after Atletico Madrid granted him permission to leave. Hodgson’s former club Blackburn Rovers are also sniffing around the Spaniard, as are the rather less likely candidates known as West Bromwich Albion.

All very encouraging news, so trust the Daily Mirror to barge in with the bad stuff. They claim that star defender Brede Hangeland has refused to sign a new deal which would have doubled his wages. Several top clubs have been expressing their admiration for the Norwegian in recent weeks, so the west Londoners face a battle to hold on to their man.

And so it comes as no surprise on Tuesday (July 7) when several tabloids report that Aston Villa could be preparing a bid. Martin O’Neill needs a reliable defender following the retirement of Martin Laursen just before the end of last season, and is thought to be willing to part with £9million of Randy Lerner’s money to get Hangeland to Villa Park.

The same day, the Daily Mirror reveal that Fulham are lining up MK Dons stopper Dean Lewington as a replacement for Hangeland, and that they will get him for as little as £500,000. Hodgson is clearly a shrewd coach with a knack for developing players, but there is a nagging feeling remaining about this prospect that you get what you pay for.

The Daily Telegraph report that Fulham have joined Portsmouth in the race to sign Golden Arrows striker Kagisho Dikgacoi. The 24-year-old South African has 20 caps and two goals for his country, and took part in the recent Confederations Cup campaign. Fulham’s pursuit of the player could become even more aggressive after reports in the Daily Record that Nancy striker Marc-Antoine Fortune is almost certain to join Celtic.

By Wednesday (July 8) that move is confirmed, leaving Fulham to look elsewhere along with Hull City and Portsmouth.

Hull’s response to this is to turn their attentions to Fulham striker Bobby Zamora. The former Tottenham man became more and more marginalised at Craven Cottage towards the end of last term, and is reported by the Yorkshire Post on Wednesday to be a target for the Tigers.

The Press Association announce on Thursday (July 9) that Hodgson has been back to Ewood Park in an attempt to sign Keith Andrews. The former MK Dons midfielder was apparently the subject of an approach from Hodgson, but the Fulham boss was told that Rovers did not want to sell. That doesn’t put Sky Sports News off the scent, who happily fill their preposterous air-time by revealing that Fulham have actually made a bid for Andrews. They don’t know how much. They are just calling it an ‘official bid’. They would.

The Sun link Fulham with a move for Marcus Berg. Berg is a Swedish striker currently playing his club football for FC Groningen in Holland, and was a star of the recent Under-21 European Championships in his home country. Also interested in Berg according to the article are Hamburg (well with a name like Berg they would have to be).

Meanwhile the Daily Mirror suggest that Hodgson could spend £1million on Leeds United midfielder Neil Kilkenny, while the Daily Star claim that Fulham are in a battle with Hull City for the signature of West Bromwich Albion midfielder Jonathan Greening. The former Manchester United and Middlesbrough man looks set to leave the Baggies after their relegation from the top flight, offering Fulham another midfield option.

On Friday (July 10) the Press Association are taking us back to the Zamora to Hull story. They say that the KC Stadium outfit have made a ‘firm and substantial bid’ for the striker, and reveal their source to be non other than Hull boss Phil Brown. The details of the bid are as yet unknown. Well we are still in July. Best to be a little cagey, no?

The Daily Mirror put a price on the head of Andrews. They say that Blackburn are asking £3million for his services, and are quick to point out that this is more than double what they paid for the player when they bought him from MK Dons. Sounds like a deliberate ploy to put Fulham off, but then wouldn’t a player with a season’s Premier League experience now under his belt be worth a little extra anyway? We’ll let Hodgson decide.

On Saturday (July 11) there is some stirring news coming from the Daily Mail. They say that Peter Crouch will arrive at Fulham for around £11million after the Cottagers agree to sell Zamora to relentless pursuers Hull City. The Times temper the excitement by suggesting that Sunderland have already had an £11million bid turned down by Portsmouth. Yeah, but they didn’t have Bobby Zamora to dangle in front of those hungry Tigers.

How old is Bolo Zenden? And who is his publicist? The Daily Mirror don’t care enough to stop them printing the suggestion that Zenden will be arriving at Craven Cottage soon. They say that the Dutchman claims Fulham want him to add experience to their squad, especially given that they are about to embark on the first ever Europa League campaign. Right. Bolo Zenden is exactly what you need when you already have a midfield consisting of an injured Simon Davies and an ageing Danny Murphy.

By Stephen Orford

14 July 2009