Southampton and West Ham United appear to have been priced out of a deal for Ruben Loftus-Cheek with the Chelsea midfielder now open to joining Fulham instead, according to Goal.
The ten-time England international may be available on loan but his mammoth wages more than make up for a lack of transfer fee.
Loftus-Cheek takes home a staggering £150,000 a week at Stamford Bridge.
And with Chelsea determined to make any interested suitor pay the vast majority if not all of his wages, the likes of West Ham and Southampton appear to be looking elsewhere.
Goal reports neither the Saints nor the Hammers are willing to pay £150,000 a week for Loftus-Cheek.
It’s never a great look, after all, to make a loanee your highest earner.
Fulham are understandably a tad desperate after losing all four of their Premier League games since returning to the big time.
But it remains to be seen whether they are capable of stumping up £600,000 every month for a powerhouse playmaker who, for all his quality, has suffered from so many injuries throughout his stop-start career.
Goal adds that Loftus-Cheek is open to making the short trip across west London to Craven Cottage.
Meanwhile The Telegraph (Live blog, 11.15am) reports another London-based youngster could be about to strengthen Scott Parker’s squad with Arsenal willing to let £27 million centre-back William Saliba depart on a short-term basis.
West Ham’s record transfers
- Sebastien Haller
£45 million
- Felipe Anderson
£41.5 million
- Marko Arnautovic
£25 million
- Pablo Fornals
£24 million
- Issa Diop
£22 million
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