Premier League newcomers Fulham have turned their attention to William Carvalho as deals for Real Betis’ Alex Moreno and Braga’s Al-Musrati hit the buffers, according to Diario AS.
We’re not even midway through June and, already, Marco Silva and co have experienced as many ups and downs, twists and turns, as a hyperactive 10-year-old with a queue jump ticket at Alton Towers.
A deal for Manor Solomon has been on and off again more regularly than a sitcom relationship, while deals for Tomas Strakosha, Al-Musrati and Alex Moreno appear to have moved into the ‘it’s complicated’ stage.
Fulham failed with an £8 million bid for swashbuckling left-back Moreno. According to Estadio Deportivo, they are reluctant to pay much more than that for a man who celebrated his 29th birthday just last week.
Celta Vigo’s Javi Galan and Porto’s Zaidu Sanusi have been lined up as potential alternatives.
There are certainly similarities between the Alex Moreno situation and the one facing Al-Musrati, another player who has been in talks with the Cottagers of late. Per A Bola, Fulham don’t want to pay the £10 million fee Braga are demanding for their colossal Libya international powerhouse.
Will Fulham land William Carvalho from Real Betis?
A couple of days ago, it seemed only a matter of time before Al-Musrati was being unveiled at Craven Cottage. Now, things don’t feel quite so certain. Especially with AS claiming that Fulham are now looking at William Carvalho, another 6ft something, deep-lying midfielder.
Carvalho is older than Al-Musrati at 30, but age is just a number. The former Sporting Lisbon ace, who came close to joining West Brom not long ago, played some of the best football of his career as Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis side won the Copa del Rey and secured European qualification.
He was outstanding as Portugal defeated Switzerland 4-0 in the UEFA Nations League recently too. His physicality, guile and often underrated passing range set the tone for a statement win. AS points out that Carvalho has turned down the chance to extend a Betis contract that expires in 2023, after Los Verdiblancos asked him to take a pay cut.
Interestingly, Carvalho played under Fulham boss Silva at Sporting too.
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