Ryan Fredericks could return to Fulham but the Premier League newcomers face competition from Southampton for the West Ham United right-back, as reported by The Telegraph.
Interestingly, a now-free-agent Fredericks produced arguably the finest performance of his career against The Saints back in 2019.
At the time, it had been a whole ten years since a defender earned a perfect, 10/10 match rating from renowned statistics website WhoScored. That was until Fredericks capped a Man of the Match performance in a 3-0 thumping of Southampton with a rare goal, joining former Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen in a very exclusive club.
Unfortunately for West Ham, performances like this would not come around all that often in the last couple of years.
Fredericks leaves the London Stadium as a free-agent, having fallen behind both Vladimir Coufal and Ben Johnson in David Moyes’ pecking order.
But it seems the attack-minded 29-year-old made quite the impression on Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl during that May afternoon three seasons back.
Southampton want Ryan Fredericks from West Ham United
Southampton are in the market for a right-back after losing Tino Livramento – one of the breakthrough stars of 2021/22 – to a long-term knee injury. And, according to The Telegraph, Fredericks is one of the names on Hasenhuttl’s radar.
“(Signing a right-back) is definitely something we have to think about. Definitely,” the former RB Leipzig boss told the Daily Echo in April.
Now, the one-time Tottenham youngster is hardly the most ambitious or exciting of transfer targets. But he’s experienced, proven in the Premier League and, most importantly of all, affordable.
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If Southampton want a stop-gap solution until Livramento returns – they still have Kyle Walker-Peters too remember – then it makes little sense to spend big on a new face when someone like Fredericks is available for absolutely nothing.
The Telegraph believe a return to Fulham is also on the cards. Fredericks played arguably the best football of his career at Craven Cottage, and was a major part of the team who beat Aston Villa in the play-offs back in 2018.
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