Fulham have made a new bid worth £17 million for Lyon forward Bertrand Traore, according to the Mail.
Like Wolves and Newcastle United, Scott Parker’s Premier League newcomers have gone into overdrive with the 2020/21 season due to kick off this weekend.
In Alphonse Areola, Fulham now have a goalkeeper who has won domestic titles with Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, while a pair of right-backs are set to arrive too.
Sky claim that Torino’s Ola Aina and Lyon’s Kenny Tete will undergo medicals with the Craven Cottage outfit and should put pen to paper before Saturday’s opening day clash at home to Arsenal.
Interestingly, Traore, the Cape Verde international who Fulham have now made two bids for, has something in common with the aforementioned defenders.
Like Aina, he started his career a few miles down the road at Chelsea. And, like Tete, he arrived at Lyon after graduating from the esteemed Ajax finishing school with flying colours.
The Mail reports that Fulham are now stepping up their pursuit of the tricky right winger, offering £17 million – a massive increase on their previous offer of £8 million (Mirror, 4 September, page 74).
And you would imagine that Traore will do everything in his power to force through the move after falling out of favour under Rudi Garcia at the Champions League semi-finalists.
“It is true that there is interest. A departure cannot be ruled out,” the 25-year-old told L’Etalon
“I can’t stay on the bench all the time. I need to play. I have no time to waste. I’m no longer an 18, 19 or 20-year-old player.”
Traore scored just one Ligue 1 goal last season but managed seven and 13 in his previous two years at Stade OL.
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