Domagoj Vida can be a marquee signing for Fulham in January
According to Turkish source Fotomac, Fulham are interested in signing Besiktas’ Croatian international defender Domagoj Vida in January.
The 29-year-old was linked with moves to Liverpool and Everton (h/t Liverpool Echo) in the summer after the World Cup but a move to the Premier League failed to materialize.
Alongside Dejan Lovren at the heart of the defence, Vida was one of the driving forces behind Croatia’s march to the finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Vida played every minute of Croatia’s World Cup campaign and scored a goal in extra time in the quarterfinals against Russia.
A product of Osijek’s youth system, Vida had stints with his boyhood club, Bayer Leverkusen and Dinamo Zagreb before joining Dynamo Kyiv in 2013 where he played for 5 seasons. Following a successful spell in Ukraine, the 29-year-old shifted bases to Turkey with Besiktas in January last season and has been in prime form since then.
Standing at 6ft. with a sinewy frame and a signature ponytail, Vida is not particularly tall for a centre-back but he makes up for it with his ability to time his jump to perfection to beat his offensive counterparts to the aerial balls. His ability to win headers inside the box makes him a genuine threat from set-pieces at both ends of the pitch.
Another impressive thing about Vida which should make him a lucrative proposition for a team like Fulham is his versatility to play in multiple positions across the backline. Essentially a centre-back by trade, Vida has also been used as a right-back and as a quarterback in a back three system.
The Croatian has the ability to outmuscle the attackers with his physicality and his game-reading and anticipation make him a complete defender. While he has the composure to play in a deep defensive line, Vida also has good recovery pace which makes him a perfect fit for teams that play a high line at the back. Furthermore, he is a decent tackler and his quick and agile enough to cope with the style of play prevalent in the Premier League.
To put things into perspective, a player like Domagoj Vida can be a massive buy for Fulham in January as he ticks all the boxes to put an end to the club’s defensive nightmares.
Fulham haven’t been outrightly poor in the attacking third but their performances at the back have left a lot to be desired for going into the second half of the season. The failure of the centre-backs hasn’t allowed the manager to field a settled combination at the heart of the defence and summer arrivals Maxime Le Marchand and Alfie Mawson haven’t really lived up to the expectations.
It has been the same story with Calum Chambers and Tim Ream, neither of whom has been able to add any sort of stability at the back.
In all honesty, Fulham have found themselves in sixes and sevens at the back all season, allowing the opposition plenty of joy and shipping goals at an alarming rate. The Cottagers need an effective leader at the back who can coordinate and direct the positioning of the other defenders.
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And an experienced centre-back like Domagoj Vida certainly fits the bills at Craven Cottage. He might just be the lifeline that Fulham need to resurrect their campaign in the Premier League and avoid the drop in what has been a very disappointing season so far.