Preseason Begins, O'Hara on Trial

Players returned from offseason travels and international competitions on Monday to begin preparations for the upcoming season. The club released a collection of photos and a video, and from these there are several things that are worth noting

First and foremost, former Spurs, Wolves, and Blackpool midfielder Jamie O'Hara is with the team on trial. If all goes to plan and Fulham offer him a permanent contract, the veteran would be a welcome addition to an already bolstered midfield. Although Blackpool was in shambles last season, O'Hara was one of the few bright spots for the Tangerines after joining in early November. Because of his late addition, he only appeared 28 times for the Seasiders, but managed to bag 2 goals and 6 assists. In fact, if you look at O'Hara on a per-game basis, he ranked 6th in assists (0.30/game) and 4th in key passes (2.37/game) amongst all Championship players.

Other players that were present at training were Patrick Roberts, who we know has been strongly linked to a move to Manchester City, new boys Ben Pringle, Tom Cairney, and Andy Lonergan, as well as the long forgotten Larnell Cole. Adam Taggart seems to be back to full health, and it looked as though George Williams worked off to the side on his own as he makes his way back from an ACL injury suffered while on loan at MK Dons. Thomas Eisfeld, who is back from his loan at VfL Bochum, as well as young defenders Cameron Burgess and Liam Donnelly trained with the first team.

Players that were missing from the beginning of preseason training included Emerson Hyndman, who just finished playing in the U-20 World Cup with the United States, Lasse Vigen Christensen, whose Danish side was unfortunately eliminated in the semifinal of the U-21 Euros, and the ever-polarizing Bryan Ruiz. Scott Parker also didn't partake in the session, but this is due to the recent surgery on his ankle. He was seen entering Motspur Park for what was most likely to rehab said ankle.

The team will have sessions at the training facility through this week before they head off to Portugal to continue preparing for the season that is quickly approaching.