Fulham are battling Burnley to secure the signing of Craig Dawson, with the Watford defender in line for an immediate return to the Premier League, according to the Mirror (21 September, page 44).
While the £5.5 million man could not be absolved of blame as Watford’s leaky defence cost them a place in the first division last term, Dawson did enough in yellow and black to keep himself in the gossip columns.
Fulham and Burnley both conceded four apiece in Premier League defeats to Leeds United and Leicester City this weekend.
And, with just a fortnight left in the transfer window, the Mirror reports that Dawson has suddenly become a man in demand.
Scott Parker’s Fulham have identified the 30-year-old former West Brom man as a player capable of adding some top-flight experience and adaptability to a back line which looks about as porous now as it did during that dismal 2018/19 season.
Dawson is equally comfortable at right-back and at centre-half, after all.
Burnley, meanwhile, have apparently identified the former England U21 international as a potential replacement for West Ham-linked James Tarkowski.
But, even with Tarkowski expected to stay, after the Hammers saw a third bid worth £31 million rejected, Dawson would add some valuable depth in a Burnley squad lacking quality in reserve.
An old-school centre-back who loves to put his body on the line, Dawson is very much a Sean Dyche-style defender, and offers the sort of backs-against-the-wall mentality Fulham are crying out for.
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