Fulham are now in pole position to sign Espanyol’s Spain international Raul de Tomas following Premier League interest from Aston Villa, Everton and Arsenal, as reported by the Daily Mail (1 September, 10.20am).
The Cottagers appear to be prioritising a new centre-forward on deadline day.
Former Tottenham Hotspur loanee Carlos Vinicius is a target, a la Blackburn’s Ben Brereton-Diaz. So too the £20 million-rated Raul de Tomas, a prolific penalty-box poacher who has been targeted by, amongst others, Arsenal, Manchester United and Bayern Munich since the turn of the year.
“Arsenal called for Raul de Tomas,” Espanyol director Jose Maria Duran admitted in January. “But we didn’t even want to talk. We won’t let him go now, no way. His release clause is 75m euros (£60m).”
Fulham hope to bring in La Liga hitman Raul de Tomas
Nine months on, Espanyol may be willing to consider offers in the region of £20 million. The Mail believe that a loan exit is also on the cards, with the Periquitos hoping to get the one-time Real Madrid and Benfica forward off the wage bill. Barcelona misfit Martin Braithwaite will reportedly replace De Tomas at the RCDE Stadium.
An emphatic finisher and a relentless presser, the four-time Spain international scored an excellent 17 La Liga goals for a mid-table Espanyol last season. In fact, he’s found the net 101 times since the beginning of the 2016/17 campaign.
De Tomas hasn’t played a minute so far this term, however. According to Football Espana, the 27-year-old doesn’t see eye-to-eye with new Espanyol coach Diego Martinez; leading to his absence from the first-team picture in recent weeks.
De Tomas would compete with the in-form Aleksandr Mitrovic for a starting spot at Fulham.
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