Why Ryan Babel could get Fulham to Premier League safety

Fulham have had a very underwhelming season by their usual standards. Considering that they spent over £100m on 12 players according to the Evening Standard, the have failed to meet the massive expectations that were placed on this hugely talented side.

Some of the players that were brought in would walk into the starting line-up at most Premier League clubs but as was the case, Slavisa Jokanovic was fired from his job as the manager of this London club. He was immediately replaced by Claudio Ranieri.

Fulham have only managed 2 wins in their last 19 Premier League matches, with those wins coming against fellow strugglers Southampton and Huddersfield Town.

The 3-2 win over the Saints on the 24th of November was the last time that Fulham scored more than one goal in a match in any competition, which must be alarming to Ranieri.

To add to their misery, they recently got knocked out of the FA Cup by League Two side Oldham, who beat Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage.

Currently at 19th place, they have only scored 20 goals all season and even with a talented squad like the one at Ranieri’s disposal, it’s quite obvious to see that there is something missing in this team.

While a striker to back up Aleksandar Mitrovic will be their priority, the wing play from the Fulham players hasn’t been very good either.

Players like Andre Schurrle and Luciano Vietto have struggled to make an impact. A new experienced winger or striker is needed at Craven Cottage and badly so.

According to reports from the Sun, Fulham are keeping track of former Liverpool winger Ryan Babel. He is currently playing for Turkish outfit Besiktas but his contract runs out at the end of the season. He could be on the verge of a short loan to Fulham until the end of the season.

Still only 32, Ryan Babel will add some much-needed experience to this rather young looking Fulham side. While he is usually deployed as a left-winger, Besiktas have used him as a striker on various occasions and Ranieri can do the same.

He is a good dribbler of the ball and has an extremely controlled first touch in any part of the pitch. While he has lost some pace over the years, Babel is still no slouch and he is also an excellent finisher. He is a tall and athletic player who can also be a threat at delivering or receiving free-kicks.

Fulham were recently embarrassed by Burnley at Turf Moor when two own goals from Fulham in two first-half minutes gave Burnley the 2-1 lead after Schurrle opened the scoring earlier in the game.

The worst part was that Burnley won the game without recording a single shot on target.
All of these factors are screaming that Ryan Babel will be a good signing for the London side and could be key in turning their current fortunes around.