Fulham are keen to sign two of last season’s most exciting Championship attackers according to reports – Brentford’s Ollie Watkins and former West Bromwich Albion loanee Grady Diangana.
Two years ago, the Cottagers embarked on a £100 million-plus summer splurge that will go down in history for all the wrong reasons.
But after the likes of Jean-Michel Seri, Andre-Franck Zambo Anguissa and Luciano Vietto flopped spectacularly in West London, Fulham appear to have learned from those most brutal of lessons.
After sealing their return to the Premier League, Scott Parker’s side are now putting their focus on signing young, hungry, homegrown talent in the form of their lives.
Sky report that Watkins, a winger who was converted into a ruthless centre-forward and scored a career-best 26 goals in 2019/20, is on Fulham’s radar.
Brentford want in excess of £25 million; a fee that would make him the Cottagers’ record signing.
Diangana, valued at £20 million by parent club West Ham, will not come cheap either.
The England U21 international was perhaps the most thrilling winger in the Championship last season, producing eight goals and seven assists and bamboozling many a full-back with a perfectly executed swivel, swerve and even the odd seal dribble.
Brentford may have no choice but to sell Watkins after being consigned to anther season of second-tier football.
A deal for Diangana, however, could be much more of a challenge with West Ham boss David Moyes seeing this 22-year-old street footballer as a key part of his plans (Sun, 26 August, page 50).
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