Fulham submit £20m bid for ‘colossus’, deal could have major knock-on for Newcastle United

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Fulham are stepping up their interest in a new centre-back this summer and two Premier League players are on their radar.

The Londoners broke their club transfer record with a £27million deal for Emile Smith Rowe this summer.

But with Joao Palhinha joining Bayern Munich for £44million, they still have a sizeable budget to improve their squad.

Jorge Cuenca has also joined Marco Silva’s side to replace Tosin Adarabioyo – who joined Chelsea as a free agent, but Tim Ream’s move back to the MLS means Fulham are still in need of another centre-back.

According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Fulham are close to reaching an agreement with Aston Villa for Diego Carlos, who has emerged as one of their top defensive targets.

But Fulham also have their eyes on Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen.

Fulham table £20m bid for Premier League defender

According to The Athletic‘s David Ornstein, Fulham have submitted a £20million bid for Andersen.

They add that Fulham’s opening bid for Carlos was rejected by Villa and that they are around £20million off Palace’s valuation of Andersen.

The Eagles want around £40million to part ways with the 28-year-old Danish defender.

HITC understands that Palace could offer Andersen a new contract amid interest in him this summer.

Andersen has grown to become a key player at Selhurst Park and was hailed a “colossus” by former manager Roy Hodgson.

Oliver Glasner is also a big admirer of Andersen and branded him an integral part of his squad last season. “I could see it from the first day that he is a fantastic player,” Glasner said.

Fulham bid could impact Newcastle United

Crystal Palace are also facing interest from Newcastle United in defender Marc Guehi.

The Tyneside club have entered negotiations for the England international but HITC confirmed that Newcastle are still around £15million short of Palace’s valuation.

Guehi has no release clause in his contract despite conflicting reports, and Palace want around £70million to part ways with him.

However, if Andersen is sold to Fulham then Palace will not want to sell both of their starting centre-backs with only three weeks to find replacements.

If Newcastle want to get a deal done for Guehi quickly, they may have to make sure they strike an agreement before Fulham poach Andersen.