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Silva desperate to sign new Hazard for Fulham, £25k-a-week deal agreed

Dan Owen
Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/CPS Images/Getty Images
Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/CPS Images/Getty Images
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Solomon Arsenal Fulham Shakhtar Tottenham
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Fulham have beaten Ligue 1 giants Lyon to the signing of Shakhtar Donetsk winger Manor Solomon with Ynet claiming that a £7 million, £25,000-a-week deal has been agreed with the Championship leaders. 

Replacing Fabio Carvalho is no easy task.

The Portuguese whizzkid is the Robin to Aleksandr Mitrovic’s barnstorming Batman at Craven Cottage, producing eight goals and seven assists en route to Liverpool. 

It goes without saying, then, that Solomon has big shoes to fill in West London.

But, when you consider that the Israel international has admirers at Lyon, Real Betis and Napoli, it’s difficult to escape the feeling that this is a real coup for a club with one foot and four toes in the Premier League, despite Sunday’s thumping 3-1 home defeat to bogey team Coventry City.

Solomon has also been linked with Arsenal, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.

The player himself admitted to The Guardian that Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City ‘really wanted’ to sign him a couple of years ago too. 

Can Manor Solomon replace Fabio Carvalho at Fulham?

Israeli publication Ynet claim that Solomon will set Fulham back £7 million. The fleet-footed Shakhtar Donetsk forward will sign a four or five-year deal, worth around £25,000-a-week. 

Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/CPS Images/Getty Images

And Marco Silva, who played a major role in the signing of Rodrigo Muniz last year, is once again front and centre of negotiations. Ynet add that Silva is a long-time admirer of Solomon. The former Everton boss also consulted a number of Portuguese coaches who know the 22-year-old from their time in Ukrainian football. 

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“The fact that Manor has not signed a new contract at Shakhtar says everything about his future,” Solomon’s agent said recently. “The priority is the English or Spanish league.” 

The snake-hipped Solomon holds a Portuguese passport and should obtain a work permit with relative ease.

He’s been compared to Eden Hazard and once described as a ‘wonderful’ talent by former Shakhtar coach Paulo Fonseca. 

Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Soccer Transfer News

Fulham and Wolves discuss signing ‘wonderful’ Jurgen Klopp fave available for free

Dan Owen
Juergen Klopp attends a training session prior to the farewell match. Inset, Joel Matip.
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Former Liverpool star Joel Matip could be offered a return to the Premier League with AFC Bournemouth, Fulham and Wolves considering a move for the free-agent Cameroon international.

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A stalwart of Jurgen Klopp’s hugely successful spell at Anfield, Joel Matip won the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup and the 2019 Champions League alongside a number of other honours.

But, three months after his Liverpool contract expired, the veteran centre-half surprisingly remains out of work.

That could change soon, however, with HITC understanding that talks have been held over a return to the professional game. Matip has held discussions with clubs in France and Germany, where he started his career and made nearly 200 Bundesliga appearances for FC Schalke 04.

There is, however, also the option of a fresh start in England.

HITC can confirm that Bournemouth, Fulham and Wolverhampton Wanderers are all mulling over a deal of their own.

Liverpool FC v AFC Ajax: Group A - UEFA Champions League
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Wolves and Fulham eye ex-Liverpool defender Joel Matip

Matip turned 33 in August and has had his fair share of injury issues over the years. But the veteran defender would still have plenty to offer on a short-term basis, provided he can prove his fitness after making only 14 appearances in his final season as a Liverpool player.

A right-sided centre-half, Fulham’s interest in Matip may come as something of a surprise. After bringing Joachim Andersen back to Craven Cottage in a £30 million deal from Crystal Palace, Marco Silva now has the Denmark international as well as Issa Diop to pick from in that right-hand role.

Bournemouth, meanwhile, have the ever-improving Ilya Zabarnyi and the summer signing from Juventus, Dean Huijsen.

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At Wolves, Craig Dawson, Yerson Mosquera and Santiago Bueno are all right footers themselves.

But Matip’s vast experience is something that could make him an inspired addition, particularly as a mentor for the likes of Huijsen and Zabarnyi at Bournemouth.

Cameroon star could take leadership role at Bournemouth

Former Liverpool boss Klopp highlighted his towering presence both on and off the pitch when saying an emotional farewell back in May.

“In all the years that I have been involved in football, I am not sure I have come across too many players who are more loved than Joel Matip. I’m not even sure it would be possible to say anything bad about him,” Klopp, who has since been replaced at Anfield by Arne Slot, told the official Liverpool website.

“A wonderful professional, a wonderful footballer and a wonderful human being – we have been blessed to have him with us for as long as we have and now all we can do is wish him well as he heads off in a new direction.

“Joel’s qualities as a player are there for all to see and as a club we have benefited from them since the first moment that he joined. I don’t think he has had too many headlines over the years but he has only ever been a very famous figure within our group.”

Matip has also been linked with West Ham.

HITC can confirm that The Hammers do indeed have room in their 25-man Premier League roster for a free-agent addition – as do Bournemouth, Fulham and Wolves – though another unattached centre-half Oumar Solet appears to be higher up on their radar.

Solet saw his contract at Red Bull Salzburg terminated on Saturday.

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Club owner ‘apologised’ to £24m star after moves to Fulham and Everton collapsed

Dan Owen
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Photo by Christian Liewig - Corbis/Getty Images
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It cannot be easy being a football player on the final day of the transfer window.

Waking up in the morning knowing that, in only a few hours, you could be packing your bags and heading to a new club in a new country.

So spare a thought for Ernest Nuamah.

Both Everton and Fulham, HITC reported at the time, were keen to bring the Olympique Lyonnais wideman to the Premier League before the window closed a fortnight ago.

Nuamah, clearly, was not quite so enthused about the idea of a fresh start in England, however. According to L’Equipe, the 20-year-old was reportedly in tears as he underwent the final stages of a prospective switch to Craven Cottage, eventually fleeing in the final few hours of the window in a desperate attempt to save his Lyon career.

Ligue 1 Uber EatsLille OSC v Olympique Lyonnais
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Everton and Fulham missed out on Lyon’s Ernest Nuamah

To John Textor’s credit, the Lyon owner was in no mood to admonish the player.

Instead, he feels he learned a lot from a saga which provides a reminder as to just how stressful life as a professional footballer be when you’re being shunted from pillar to post against your will and forced to leave the place you call home at such short notice.

“He didn’t want to leave,” Textor explains to RMC Sport. “I contacted Ernest very quickly. I apologised.

“I learned a lot (from this situation). He is someone of great value. These kinds of decisions make the players say to themselves that OL is a great club with extraordinary facilities (and) we are in the Europa League.”

Nuamah, capped 12 times by Ghana already before his 21st birthday, only joined Lyon in an eventual £24 million deal at the start of this year.

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A graduate of the fabled Right to Dream academy which also gave us Mohammed Kudus and Simon Adingra – now at West Ham United and Brighton and Hove Albion respectively – Nuamah moved to France from another of Textor’s clubs. The Belgian outfit RWD Molenbeek.

“Ernest is first and foremost a dribbler,” Nuamah’s former Nordsjaelland coach Flemming Pedersen said, via Breaking the Lines. “He is incredibly fast, has a huge acceleration, and a good agility.

He is primarily left-footed, but can also use the right. He is a great individualist with tremendous power, who has great potential to also become a skilled team player.”

Everton might have missed out on Nuamah – who HITC understands preferred a move to Fulham anyway – though they did manage to bring in another player from Lyon. Former Nottingham Forest midfilelder Orel Mangala returns to England.

Fulham, meanwhile, moved on from Nuamah by snapping up the perennial Arsenal benchwarmer Reiss Nelson.

John Textor opens up on Everton takeover plans

Textor, in that same interview, also opened up on the discussions that could see him take over a crisis-hit Everton outfit, providing he first sells his shares in Crystal Palace.

“The potential acquisition of Everton would come from my own funding, and the deal that is being discussed would be me as the buyer. The buyer of Everton would be John Textor,” the American businessman explains, only a few months after the collapse of those talks with the 777 Partners.

“I would be the investor. A new holding company would be created. There would be no impact on OL Group (which includes Lyon). The acquisition would be done in equity if it goes well.

“There is a 90 per cent chance of reaching an agreement, but the current owner of Everton has a lot of choice.”

Soccer Transfer News

Fulham and Wolves miss out on free-agent as £17m man leaves Premier League rivals

Dan Owen
Marco Silva manager / head coach of Fulham during the Carabao Cup Second Round match. Inset, Dennis Praet.
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Former Leicester City midfielder Dennis Praet has turned down a move to Burnley with Premier League trio Fulham, Ipswich Town and Wolves also having considered the Belgium international.

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There are a number of high-profile players still on the lookout for a new club having left their old employers at the start of July.

Adrien Rabiot is still without employment three months after his contract at Juventus ran out. The same can be said of Memphis Depay, Andre Gomes, Wissam Ben Yedder and Anthony Martial, while HITC understands that Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and co have been offered the chance to sign former Lille ace Yusuf Yazici.

Dennis Praet, however, is closing in on his own return to club football.

Leicester City paid £18 million to sign the versatile midfielder back in 2019. Praet left the King Power Stadium five years on in the aftermath of their Championship-winning campaign under Enzo Maresca, with a number of English-based clubs taking note of his availability.

Leicester City v Sheffield Wednesday - Sky Bet Championship
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Burnley and Wolves looked into Dennis Praet deal

HITC can confirm that Burnley held talks.

Looking to bounce back from last season’s relegation, Scott Parker’s Clarets were in the market for a midfielder with Sander Berge heading to Fulham. Hannibal Mejbri would eventually arrive from Man United.

HITC have been told that Premier League trio Fulham, Wolves and Ipswich also showed an interest in Praet.

The 15-time Belgium international is expected to head back home instead, however, with the most successful club in the Jupiler League offering him a fresh start.

Anderlecht recently ruled out a move for Man United benchwarmer Christian Eriksen, with the Dane’s wages simply too expensive. Praet, though, is far more affordable.

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DH Net reported on Thursday that the one-time Sampdoria and Torino man has undergone medical tests as he closes in on a return to the club where he started his career.

Praet spent six years at Anderlecht – 34-time champions of the Belgian top flight – before embarking on spells in Italy and England.

“I’m at the end of my contract and ready for something new,” Praet told Het Nieuwsblad at the start of the summer. “I am now 29 (he turned 30 a few weeks later) and physically at the peak of my career.

“I definitely want to become important somewhere again, so that I can find the fun in the game again.”

Fulham and Ipswich also considered ex-Leicester City ace

Praet may have wanted ‘something new’, but a second spell at Anderlecht will see his career come full circle.

“The focus now is on finding the right club,” Praet added. “I am realistic enough to realise that a top-four team from a top league will not suddenly come and get me. But if I end up at a nice mid-range club where I can become a key player, that’s also good.

“And if it is in a location where it is fun for my family to stay, then that is a bonus.”

Wolves, despite their well-publicised financial issues, managed to strike a £21 million deal for former Fulham and Liverpool target Andre Trindade.

The Cottagers, meanwhile, reinforced their own midfield with the arrival of the aforementioned Berge.

Ipswich – another of Praet’s admirers – landed Kalvin Phillips and Jens Cajuste on loan from Manchester City and Napoli. Two players who, if they can rediscover the form that earned them moves to some of Europe’s biggest clubs, could prove to be real difference-makers at Portman Road.

Soccer Transfer News

Reiss Nelson explains Fulham transfer decision after Ipswich Town snub on deadline day

Luke Thrower
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
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Reiss Nelson has broken his silence on a loan switch to Fulham on transfer deadline day as part of a last-gasp move.

The 24-year-old has struggled for chances in recent years at Arsenal, racking up just 257 minutes in the Premier League last season.

The Hale End academy graduate looked set to play back-up to Bukayo Saka once again until the Gunners sealed a move for Raheem Sterling.

That freed up the space for Reiss Nelson to exit, with Ipswich Town the frontrunners for the final hours of the transfer window.

The Premier League newcomers were looking at ways to strengthen their squad even further, despite some big-money signings for Kieran McKenna.

Nelson would’ve been a final addition to the side at Portman Road, but it never went through as a switch to Fulham was preferred instead.

Arsenal v Olympique Lyonnais - Pre-Season Friendly
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Reiss Nelson discusses deadline day transfer to Fulham

For the first time since he left Arsenal to join Fulham, Nelson has discussed how deadline day panned out for him and why he chose a move to Craven Cottage specifically.

“To be fair, a lot of waiting around, you know,” the winger told Fulham club media. “My brother is my agent so it was a bit easier as he lives around the corner and I was waiting at his house, all the family was there as well.

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“It was a bit up and down, didn’t really know what was going on but in the end, I think I made the right decision.

“Spoke with the boss [Marco Silva] and I think he convinced me about the project and that was something I couldn’t turn down.”

What Reiss Nelson deal means for Fulham and Ipswich

For Fulham, the deal to sign Nelson on loan is an opportunity to bolster the squad while also looking at a potential star signing for the following summer if he impresses.

It’s been clear over the past year or so that the winger hasn’t been in the plans of Mikel Arteta as competition to Saka on the right.

At Craven Cottage, there’s a chance to rediscover his best form and potentially earn a move there or put himself back in the frame at Arsenal.

As for Ipswich and their failed attempt to land Nelson, there is already plenty of quality in the forward areas with Chiedozie Ogbene the latest addition on that flank.

It may, however, hint towards the injury status of Wes Burns, who has been out of action so far this season.

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