The Craven Corner: Jozabed Signs As Fulham Prepare For Preston

Fulham have today announced the signing of Spanish midfielder, Jozabed from Rayo Vallecano on a three year deal with an option of a fourth.

Despite signing for an undisclosed fee, many reports from Spain claim the midfielder has signed for €4m (£3.4m).

While, it may be an unknown name to Fulham fans, the Spanish media have reported the deal for the past 10 days; with the player sitting in the Cottage for the Newcastle United game.

At just 5'11 the Spanish midfielder is more another attack minded midfielder and impressed last season for Rayo Vallecano with 9 goals. Although I can't say I've watched him on a regular basis, you have to take a look at the strike he scored against Villareal - it really is something special!

It'll be interesting to see how long he takes to break into the starting eleven considering he has been training with the squad this week prior to signing. If there was a position in the side, I guess he would replace Tunnicliffe in the starting eleven alongside McDonald. But he would have to be prepared to cover just as much ground as Ryan does.

With this in mind, I would personally like to see an unchanged side from the Newcastle United game to build some consistency and momentum within the side.

This would mean that Cauley Woodrow would miss out after scoring twice in mid-week against Leyton Orient. Even though Cauley starred in the EFL Cup victory, I feel it would be harsh to drop Smith after scoring the decisive goal against Newcastle, and while he may not be the fastest option to lead the line, he is a very capable target man and focal point in attack. With Sone Aluko & Floyd Ayite supporting the former Leeds striker in attack, Fulham should be able to cause the Preston back-line numerous problems.

It must be noted that Fulham won't have an easy game like in Pre-Season against Preston though. Despite winning the training game early in pre-season, Simon Grayson will have his side well prepared for this fixture, so I'd expect a tough day at Deepdale for the Whites this weekend.

With Fulham announcing Jozabed, the club are hoping to sign another three or four players this summer, so as fans we must keep our patience as Jokanovic continues his rebuild this summer.

I strongly believe that we have the right man for the job in Jokanovic and so far I've been very impressed with the summer transfer business. Should this continue and Fulham start the campaign well, then there's no reason why we can't exceed my expectations of a top 10 finish this season.

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