Championship promotion chasers Fulham reportedly wanted Eibar striker Sergi Enrich in each of the last two transfer windows.
When you are the smallest club in the history of the Spanish top flight, it helps if you know your way around the free-agents list. Fortunately, Eibar know how to spot a bargain.
After capping their third straight season in La Liga with a remarkable tenth place finish, the team from a town of just 27,000 people has completed the signing of Brazilian forward Charles on a free transfer.
Charles should be another Eibar bargain
The 33-year-old may have been released by Malaga at the end of last season but he remains a reliable, proven La Liga goalscorer. He hit 30 league goals in the last four seasons, including 12 in an impressive 2015/16 campaign.
And, with strength in the air and an impressive poacher’s instinct, Charles could be a readymade replacement for Sergi Enrich. The journeyman forward has found a home at Eibar, developing into one of La Liga’s most potent Spaniards.
After playing second fiddle to Swansea’s record signing Borja Baston in 2015/16, Enrich took centre stage last season and netted 11 goals while producing another seven assists. It’s little wonder, then, that Fulham have long held an admiration for the 27-year-old.
Sky Sports claim they made a £3.5 million bid last summer while AS reported in January that the Championship high-flyers, along with West Ham and Marseille, remained interested.
Sergi Enrich
The report adds that Enrich has a £6.8 million release clause in his contract, well within budget for Fulham. And now that Chris Martin has returned to Derby County upon the expiry of his loan spell, the strapping, hard-working Enrich should once again be at the top of their shopping list.
And, who knows, Eibar may be a little more receptive to offers this time around.
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