Why Lewis Grabban Is The Right Man For Fulham
According to reports, both Wolves and Fulham are looking to tempt Bournemouth into selling striker Lewis Grabban after he went on a run of scoring 10 goals in 13 starts for struggling Sunderland. The south coast club have a recall clause in place should they need it.
Sunderland manager Chris Coleman confirmed this week that the clause exists and that he could be recalled, though he has put on record his hopes that Grabban stays on Wearside. He also claimed the player is happy and that he has shown no indication of his wish to leave. The final decision, of course, is ultimately with Bournemouth.
Both Fulham and indeed Wolves are very keen to get hold of the 29-year-old and they want him on a permanent deal when the January transfer window opens. Such a move would be a huge blow to Sunderland who are struggling badly to get out of the Championship relegation zone.
Sunderland’s debt means they would be unable to match any financial deals put together by Wolves, Fulham or even Bournemouth in order to sign him permanently and so they could be fighting a losing battle here.
The £2.7m rated Grabban seems to be belatedly finding his feet at this level having started out at Crystal Palace before moving to Rotherham United and then on to Bournemouth for a £333,000 fee during the summer transfer window back in 2012.
He did do well on the south coast initially, scoring 35 goals across a two year period before moving on to Norwich City for £3.3million, though he ended up with Bournemouth again, around 18 months later.
The forward then moved to Reading on loan for the second half of last season as the Royals got all the way to the playoff final at Wembley, though ultimately he could not help them achieve promotion to the Premier League despite performing well with Yann Kermorgant.
Grabban secured a loan move to Sunderland this past summer and despite his personal form, the club are in a dire way and the striker may not want to be part of a team which could go down to the third tier of English football, something which is looking a distinct possibility unless the new boss can turn things around.
For Fulham’s part, they need a proper goalscorer after yet another failed experiment in the form of Portuguese hitman Rui Costa and see Grabban as the ideal man. This could turn out to be a great move for Fulham.