First, the good news. Fulham finally seem to be bringing in a central midfielder. Fulham are among three teams (Watford and Wigan) looking to bring in Andy King, a Welsh International from Leicester City. Of the three teams chasing him, I'd give Fulham the best shot. They can probably pay the highest wage of any of the three. The question will be whether he wants to forgo the Premier League to receive steady first team action in the Championship. He does seem like a perfect fit for the club. In the past, Felix Magath has run with the diamond midfield. That's how he lined up the squad in the last pre-season game. What that formation requires is two shuttlers to play on each side of the diamond. Lyle Della Verde looked good there. Ryan Tunnicliffe would be a natural fit. Alex Kacaniklic can probably due it (though I worry about his defense). Most of the other midfielders in the squad though are more wingers than shuttlers. King would be the perfect two way midfielder to bring in. This is a move I hope comes true. With how many goals came from midfield last year (most from Steve Sidwell), it would be nice to have someone who is capable of this.
In one of the first moves that is really surprising to me, it appears Fernando Amorebieta will be leaving. Reports out of Spain say that there is a €500,000 relegation clause in his contract. This forces Fulham to sell him to any team willing to pay that fee. The sticking point seems to be salary. Malaga is attempting to make him take a pay cut to join the club. This was the main reason I felt he wouldn't move. He has a long term deal with Fulham paying him a good salary. Is playing top flight football worth taking that money out of his pocket? Apparently it is. I don't feel that this move hurts the club that much. They seem to have signed plenty of players to play left fullback and in central defense. I still think Amorebieta was underrated by fans, and if he does leave, I wish him well.
The saga with the transfer of Marcelo Trotta continues. This time Sampdoria in Serie A looking at him. The report from Italy claims he wants to move back to Italy and has rejected offers from Wigan, Norwich, and Brentford. Fulham have so many strikers, and so many of them are young, that there would be no great loss in Trotta leaving. The fact that Fulham would be willing to sell him on to a rival team also looking for promotion would seem to tell you all you need to know about how they see him.
The goalkeeper situation at Fulham has been quite weird. Maarten Stekelenburg is still with the club. All the rumors around him seem to have dried up. Yet I don't believe he's training and hasn't played in the pre-season. David Stockdale also hasn't played. Though it seems to be that he has a slight injury. However, now there are reports that Brighton are offering £1M for him. I don't understand why a move like this would happen, unless Stekelenburg can't be moved. Perhaps I shouldn't have down right dismissed those rumors about Adam Bogdan?
Finally, there is some good news. I'm not sure where Turkish Football got these quotes. They could be completely made up. But if they're true, Fulham seem convinced that they're going to keep a hold of Bryan Ruiz, Kostas Mitroglou, and Ashkan Dejagah. If that's true, it would be huge. Those three players have the talent to be three of the best players in the Championship.
Rumors are hard. You get yourself worked up over something that could happen, and then feel dissapointed when it doesn't, like Matt Besler. Even though you shouldn't be upset by things like that they still hurt. Hopefully soon we can discuss some new signings rather than all of this endless speculation.