Summer Transfer Window 2023

[Colly]

There's genuinely a look of potentially world class talent signing for a Championship side look to the photo, even with Emery there.

[Lineker]

 

[Lineker]

Quote

Fulham have agreed a deal to buy Raúl Jiménez from Wolves for about £5.5m as they enter final talks with Al-Hilal to sell Aleksandar Mitrovic to the Saudi Pro League club.

Although Mitrovic is poised for a move to the Gulf state, Marco Silva will not be heading there, Fulham’s manager having turned down a €40m (£34.6m) two-year offer from Al-Ahli.

Mitrovic continued to push to join Al-Hilal after Fulham rejected two bids and Fulham moved for Jiménez as they seek to replace the striker. Jiménez is expected to finalise personal terms on Monday.

Mitrovic scored 14 goals in 24 Premier League appearance last season, whereas Jiménez failed to find the net in 15 appearances, including eight starts. The Mexico striker sustained a serious head injury against Arsenal in November 2020 and has since scored six times in 49 Premier League games, including 38 starts. He got three Carabao Cup goals last season.

Fulham are also on course to sign Mohammed Salisu from Southampton as well as Calvin Bassey, another centre-back, from Ajax. Tosin Adarabioyo is expected to leave, with Monaco among the clubs keen on the defender.

Callum Hudson-Odoi remains a target for Fulham. Lazio are in advanced talks to sign the winger from Chelsea but Fulham will push again for the 22-year-old after Silva committed his future to the club.

Fulham reopened talks to sell Mitrovic days after Tony Khan, their vice chairman and director of football operations, said the club were “definitely committed to keeping our top stars and doing what it will take” in the face of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to sign players.

 

[Colly]

The offer feels obvious to me, we can't give you crazy wages at Fulham but stick around til you retire and you can form the Balkan Brutes with Miro and hold tag team gold for a decade.

[Lineker]

Al Hilal have bid 300m euros for Mbappe.

[stokeriño]

I know the money they offer him will be ridiculous too, but abandoning Champions League football for a nothing league would be quite an absurd move for a 24 year old of "possibly the best in the world" calibre.

[Colly]

My WhatsApp group has suggested it might suit all parties though, he doesn't want to play for PSG and has time left on his contract. PSG get a shitload of cash, so does Mbappe, then he moves to Real after a year for a shitload less fee if any.

[Malenko]

Just now, Colly said:

My WhatsApp group has suggested it might suit all parties though, he doesn't want to play for PSG and has time left on his contract. PSG get a shitload of cash, so does Mbappe, then he moves to Real after a year for a shitload less fee if any.

If it goes through that's what's going to happen. He'll be there for a year before moving to Real Madrid.

[stokeriño]

So, what, in this scenario would his Saudi contract literally be for 1 year, or would Al Hilal actually try to leverage some kind of transfer fee out of Madrid despite Mbappe having effectively been 'promised' he can go there?

[Malenko]

3 minutes ago, stokeriño said:

So, what, in this scenario would his Saudi contract literally be for 1 year, or would Al Hilal actually try to leverage some kind of transfer fee out of Madrid despite Mbappe having effectively been 'promised' he can go there?

What I've been reading is Al Hilal (or rather the country of Saudi Arabia), apparently, would be happy enough with having him there for one year. Good publicity for the league and country. I'm sure there's more to it, money and otherwise, happening in the background, but from a pre-Saudi football world's perspective he'd sign for a season and then leave on a free to Madrid and be there just in time for the following season.

[METALMAN]

I wonder if Mbappe will be able to manage the step up in quality from the Uber Eats league.

[gunnar hendershow]

Honestly I think the deal happens. Saudi League will give him whatever he wants to have the prestige of Mbappe playing there for a season.

[King Ellis]

Morals and ethics aside, I don't think a year out bumming it in Saudi Arabia is a big hit to his career. I get why people in their early to mid thirties are going but it's not as if Madrid are going to turn him down next summer because he's coming from a subpar league. It seems mad to spend however many hundred million just for 1 year but I guess it's nothing to them.

If he ends up staying though, then it's a problem. Like SMS going there whilst in his prime, it's a waste.

[FLiam]

This Mbappé deal is fucking gross on so many levels.

[METALMAN]

1 hour ago, King Ellis said:

The ends up staying though, then it's a problem. Like SMS going there whilst in his prime, it's a waste.

Would disagree with this being prime SMS time. Most people I know use WhatsApp.

[Dang117]

It was one thing players going at the twilight of there career going to play in Saudi, but this is a player who hasn't even his hit prime playing for that league. I imagine it's only for a season but even so it sets an unhealthy precedent 

[gunnar hendershow]

1 minute ago, Dang117 said:

It was one thing players going at the twilight of there career going to play in Saudi, but this is a player who hasn't even his hit prime playing for that league. I imagine it's only for a season but even so it sets an unhealthy precedent 

I don't know what is to be done. Nobody is going to give PSG money for a year of Mbappe. I read he was prepared to basically sit out the entire season. Without PSG accepting an extremely low-ball offer from Real they'd be happy to wait a season and get him for free. In a world w/o Saudi there'd be another league or club flush with new cash somewhere else that would do the same.

[The Buscher]

I simultaneously think the blood money is disgusting yet if I’m being honest I would take that deal in 5 seconds.  I mean that’s just a comical amount of money for a year.

”Everybody has a price” etc 

[Dang117]

As much as I may not like it it's smart business getting players like this in especially when they are preparing a world cup hosting bid

[Lineker]