Cast your mind back to transfer deadline day.
The final day of the transfer window was an incredibly hectic one for Fulham, and there was a lot of pressure on the Whites to get things right.
Tony Khan had remarkably taken to Twitter to promise new signings, including a new centre-half, and if he didn’t deliver, there would have been a mutiny amongst the fanbase.
As we all now know, he did deliver, and to be fair to him, his signings look like they’re quite good with Tosin Adarabioyo and Joachim Andersen looking solid since arriving on deadline day.
However, Fulham very nearly ended up with a different centre-back pairing.
Indeed, Jean-Clair Todibo and Timo Baumgartl were reportedly very close to joining Fulham in the final days of the transfer window, but those deals fell through and the Whites had to come up with another plan, and that involved bringing in Adarabioyo and Andersen.
Andersen has gone from strength to strength since joining Fulham, even captaining the team in the last two matches, while Adarabioyo looks like an absolute bargain at just £2 million.
Meanwhile, Todibo is being slammed for being unfit and tactically inept by Benfica manager Jorge Jesus after joining the club, while Baumgartl is barely getting a look-in at PSV this season, playing just 180 minutes in the Eredivisie this term.
There’s a lot to be said about Fulham’s defence, and while Adarabioyo and Anderson aren’t the new Brede Hangeland and Aaron Hughes, they’re a far cry from what could have been if Scott Parker had been forced to persevere with Michael Hector and Tim Ream.
Most importantly, they’ve proven to be better signings that Todibo and Baumgartl would have been.
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