Fulham are reportedly closing in on Bernd Leno, with the Arsenal goalkeeper set to sign for the west London side in the coming weeks ahead of the new Premier League season.
According to West London Sport, the Cottagers are looking to wrap up a deal to sign the Germany international, with Leno set to leave Arsenal this summer following the arrival of Matt Turner, with Fulham seeking a new quality goalkeeper following their return to the top-flight.
Leno is one of a handful of high-earning Arsenal players who Mikel Arteta is keen to offload this summer, with the 30-year-old earning a reported £100,000-a-week as the Basque manager looks to sell Nicolas Pepe and Lucas Torreira, two more players on similar wages.
Indeed, the former Bayer Leverkusen keeper might have opted to stay at Arsenal this season. However, with the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicking off this winter and Leno usually Germany’s backup to Manuel Neuer, it makes sense why the shot-stopper is open to signing for Fulham.
The west London side can guarantee Leno regular football in the Premier League, and although Fulham are strong favourites to go down, signing Leno could give Marco Silva’s side a fighting chance of doing the impossible and surviving their comeback season in the English top flight.
Fulham securing Leno could change the club’s fortunes entirely
It’s something of a meme at this point that Fulham will be relegated back down to the Championship after winning promotion to the Premier League, but the signing of Leno could change everything for the Craven Cottage side in the best way possible.
After all, Leno is a fantastic goalkeeper who many Arsenal fans were surprised to see get replaced last summer by Aaron Ramsdale, and whilst the England international has proven to be a masterstroke from Arteta, the German shot-stopper is still a top player who could easily start for many of Europe’s biggest sides, let alone for Fulham.
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