According to The Athletic, Fulham are now in talks to sign Arsenal glovesman Bernd Leno, who is also a target for Newcastle.
What’s the story?
Well, this would be quite the signing for Fulham as they aim to stay in the Premier League.
The Athletic believe Leno is the preferred option for Marco Silva as the Cottagers search for a new goalkeeper, although the west Londoners do have alternatives – however, they are not named.
It comes after Newcastle were said to be eyeing a move for the Germany international, who Arsenal paid £22m for when signing him from Bayer Leverkusen in 2018.
Leno lost the No.1 shirt under Mikel Arteta following the arrival of Aaron Ramsdale, and he is thought to be keen on regular playing time with the World Cup on the horizon this November.
The 30-year-old made just four Premier League appearances last season, as well as three outings in the Carabao Cup and one in the FA Cup.
Mikel Arteta currently has Ramsdale, Matt Turner and Karl Hein in the goalkeeping department, as well as Leno.
In our view, four goalkeepers is one too many, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see the German depart.
Fulham have advantage over Newcastle
The Athletic also share a piece of bad news for Eddie Howe and the Magpies.
It is said that Leno would prefer to stay in London, which immediately puts Fulham ahead of Newcastle in the race for his signature.
Of course, Newcastle are now one of the richest clubs on the planet, and they may be able to sway Leno towards Tyneside with a bumper salary.
However, if the £100,000-a-week man’s decision is due to family reasons, then we believe Howe might struggle to lure him away from London.
Whatever happens, Fulham are certainly showing a lot of ambition here, and it will be interesting to see where Leno ends up.
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