Slavisa Jokanovic says Fulham don’t have to sell Tom Cairney but Newcastle can offer him something they cannot.
Fulham’s Tom Cairney celebrates after the match
Unfortunately for Fulham, failure to get promoted from the Sky Bet Championship after defeat to Reading in the playoffs means keeping their best players becomes a difficult task.
Although he does not mention the midfielder by name, it is easy to read between the lines that Tom Cairney is among those Cottagers manager Slavisa Jokanovic was referring to when he spoke after that loss.
“I expect our best players to stay with us. This is the information I have from the board. They have promised me these players are going to stay with us,” Jokanovic was quoted by the London Evening Standard.
Yet while the potential of Premier League football would have kept ambitious stars such as Cairney happy for a while, with that no longer a possibility the prospect of joining a top flight side becomes all the more enticing.
Step forward Newcastle United. Crowned Championship winners and returning to the top tier at the first time of asking, boss Rafael Benitez is already looking to strengthen his squad ahead of the new season.
Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez
As the Telegraph reports, Cairney is high on Benitez’s list of priorities, with the Magpies preparing a £12m offer while Fulham want nearer to £20m.
Either way, while the West London team may say they do not have to sell any of their players, if the Scotland international wants to leave for Newcastle then with the Premier League no longer an option for them, they are powerless to resist.
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