Fulham Opinion: The Cottagers should try to beat West Brom in the race to sign Trevoh Chalobah on loan from Chelsea
According to Football London, Fulham have joined the race to sign Trevoh Chalobah on loan from Chelsea in the summer transfer window, with reports claiming that manager Scott Parker is keen to bring in some fresh faces following the Cottagers’ relegation from the Premier League.
Fulham are not the only club have been credited with an interest in Chalobah, though, with Football London claiming that fellow promotion-hopefuls West Brom are also hot on trail of the 20-year-old midfielder.
The Baggies have already snapped up Croatian playmaker Filip Krovinovic from Benfica this summer but new manager Slaven Bilic is seemingly interested in bolstering his midfield options with a few more additions.
Highly-rated teenage prospect Rekeem Harper also looked set to depart the club but he has signed a new deal after having a heart-to-heart with the new manager, although the Baggies still find themselves under pressure to find replacements for the likes of Gareth Barry, Stefan Johansen and James Morrison.
Meanwhile, Fulham are yet to spend a penny in the transfer window this summer, having spent a fortune last summer upon securing promotion to the Premier League. However, the Cottagers are likely to have to cut down their wage bill and balance the books following their relegation from the top-flight, meaning that they would no longer be able to have such high-profile names on their payroll.
Looking at their options in the middle of the park, Jean Michael Seri looks sure to depart but it remains to be seen whether the Cottagers manage to keep hold of Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.
The likes of Kevin McDonald, Tom Cairney and Stefan Johansen, who had played a key role in Fulham’s promotion-winning campaign in the Championship back in 2017-18, will once again be expected to be mainstays of the midfield, whilst Ibrahima Cisse is likely to continue as a fringe player.
Suffice to say, central midfield is one area of the pitch where a lot of depth and competition for places is desirable and someone like Trevoh Chalobah could possibly add a lot of energy and youthful exuberance to Fulham’s ranks.
The 20-year-old is still very much in the developmental phase of his career but he is a promising youngster with a lot of quality, nevertheless.
The Sierra Leone-born midfielder has won plenty of accolades with Chelsea at the youth level, including the UEFA Youth League and the FA Youth Cup. While he is yet to make his senior professional debut for the Blues, Fulham would probably be more interested in his statistics from his loan spell at Ipswich Town in the previous season.
The tough-tackling and all-action defensive midfielder impressed with his consistent performances in the Championship at Portman Road, although he couldn’t help the Tractor Boys from going down to League One.
The 20-year-old caught the eye with his natural flair, ability to break up the play and proficiency in carrying the ball forward with pace, registering 2 goals and an assist in 43 appearances for Paul Lambert’s side.
Even if the move materializes, the England U-20 star would probably only play as an understudy to the likes of Johansen, McDonald and Cairney but, as alluded to earlier, Fulham need to ensure that they have adequate depth in their ranks. And Trevoh Chalobah is more than capable of playing that role to perfection.
Looking at things from the player’s perspective, the prospect of a loan move to Fulham looks seems more appealing due to the fact that he would be able to further his development in West London.
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All in all, Fulham should go all out in their pursuit of the highly-rated Chelsea youngster this summer and wrap up a deal at the earliest to enhance their chances of securing a return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.