Fulham in "pole position" for Ludovic Sane

According to the Daily Express, Fulham are in the lead to bring on Senegalese center back Ludovic Sane from Bordeaux. This is a move that makes a lot of sense. He'd strengthen the back line and give it more experience. He also can play as a right back in certain situations, or more importantly as a central defensive midfielder.

The squad is a little thing at both areas. In central defense, the only "veteran" players are Shuan Hutchinson and Fernando Amorebieta. And there is still a chance that Amorebieta doesn't remain with the team for the year, much less to start the season. Hutchinson is a veteran, but he's still only 23 and is moving up a league. Bringing in more experience can only help.

At CDM the club is really thin. Scott Parker is going to be the nominal starter. But at his age, can you expect him to play a full 90 week in and week out? The Championship schedule is grueling and I wouldn't count on him to be ready all the time. After that you drop to players out of position and/or very young. However, if Magath really does play the diamond, the responsibilities of the CDM are quite different. He rarely has to get forward. And since width is mainly going to come from the fullbacks, he's very often going to be dropping back to act as a third defender with the center back pair. that means players like Tim Hoogland and Eslad Zverotic could be called on to play there. Jack Grimmer might be another option.

Which leads us back to Ludovic Sane. He has experience at both center back and CDM. And in the diamond might be a perfect player to slot into that position as backup or a late game sub to lock down leads. This is a move I like. Or at least a move I like as much as one can without ever actually seeing the player play in person.