Fulham will be back in the Premier League next season, but perhaps they never would have been playing Championship football if they got their transfers right.
The Whites’ transfer business in recent years has been dodgy to say the least. £100m was spent in the summer of 2018 on a number of players who, quite simply, haven’t made much of an impact at Craven Cottage.
However, things could have been so different.
Indeed, over the years Fulham have come close to signing a number of bona fide superstars, and we’re going to take a look at how the Cottagers could have lined up if they managed to get some of their most ambitious moves over the line.
GK – Jan Oblak
This is one of the most painful near-misses in Fulham’s history.
Back in 2009, Fulham had Jan Oblak on trial, but the then 16-year-old stopper rejected a move to west London in favour of staying in his home country of Slovenia.
Since then, Oblak has established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world at Atletico Madrid.
RB – Youssouf Sabaly
By no means the biggest name on this list, Fulham came very close to signing Bordeaux right-back Youssouf Sabaly back in 2019.
According to Sky Sports, the Whites even activated the full-back’s release clause on deadline day, but time constraints meant a deal was unable to be completed.
CB – Jean-Clair Todibo
Fulham’s hunt for a centre-back in the summer of 2020 led them to looking at Jean-Clair Todibo.
Unfortunately for Fulham, the Frenchman, quite simply, didn’t want to join the London club and he instead opted to move to Benfica where he would spend just six months before heading to Nice.
CB – John Stones
Fulham could have had John Stones for just £1.5m back in 2013, but they refused to allow Barnsley to loan the centre-half back for the rest of the season.
Since then, Stones has moved for £50m and become a multi-time Premier League winner with Manchester City. It’s fair to say that Fulham missed out on a bargain here.
LB – Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale would eventually transform into one of the best wingers in the world, but back in 2009, Fulham wanted to sign him as a left-back.
Whether or not Bale would have reached his potential at Fulham is up for debate. But it’s fair to say that Roy Hodgson would have spotted his ability to play further forward. After all, Hodgson did try to play Roberto Carlos on the wing during his time at Inter Milan.
CM – Declan Rice
We’ve all heard the story of how Declan Rice was released by Chelsea as a youngster, but it’s often glossed over that he trained with Fulham the very same day Chelsea let him go.
Unfortunately for the Whites, West Ham swooped in for the midfielder and now he’s rated as a £150m footballer.
CM – Saul Niguez
Saul Niguez revealed in an interview that he almost signed for Fulham under Mark Hughes.
“Fulham wanted me when I was 16,” Saul said. “They were in the Premier League at the time with Mark Hughes and I was close to going.
“They had a plan for me to train with them for three months and then to start playing directly. I could go from the Atletico B team to the Premier League.
“I felt ready to make that jump. Thank God I never went.”
It’s fair to say that Saul thinks he dodged a bullet, but after a poor season at Chelsea, perhaps Fulham were the ones who had the lucky escape here.
CM – Jordan Henderson
Jordan Henderson was almost let go by Liverpool in 2012 in a swap deal for Clint Dempsey.
However, after a conversation with Brendan Rodgers and a few tears, Henderson decided to stay and fight for his place at Anfield, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The midfielder has since become the Reds’ captain and helped them towards Champions League and Premier League glory.
RW – Raheem Sterling
Fulham actually rejected the chance to sign Raheem Sterling as a teenager when he left QPR for Liverpool.
The Whites, along with Arsenal and Chelsea, turned down the opportunity to bring a teenage Sterling, and on reflection, that was a huge mistake.
Sterling is now a star for both Manchester City and England, while he also hit his 100th Premier League goal earlier this season.
ST – Robert Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski finished 2nd in the Ballon d’Or voting last year, but his career may have turned out very differently if he’d signed for Fulham in 2010 as planned.
The Whites had apparently agreed a loan move with an option to buy for the Polish striker in December 2009 for the striker to join in 2010, but for one reason or another, the move never happened.
Who knows? Perhaps Fulham would have won the 2010 Europa League final if they had Lewandowski leading the line rather than a semi-fit Bobby Zamora.
LW – Antoine Griezmann
The most famous tale on this list. Fulham famously chose to sign Kostas Mitroglou in 2014 instead of Griezmann.
At the time, it wasn’t a ridiculous decision. After all, Mitroglou was lighting up Greece at the time, but with hindsight, this may be the biggest transfer mistake in Premier League history.
Mitroglou would play just three games for Fulham before leaving the club, while Griezmann would go on to be a star for Atletico Madrid and Barcelona while also winning a World Cup with France.
The Team
There we have it, a team packed full of Champions League winners and world superstars. Where would Fulham be if they’d managed to even get a handful of these deals over the line? Sadly, we’ll never know.
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