Claudio Ranieri’s Fulham are reportedly hoping to sign Chelsea duo Michy Batshuayi and Gary Cahill in the January transfer window.
Fulham need reinforcements at both ends of the pitch.
Not only are they crying out for centre-backs with The Cottagers’ defensive record ranking as the worst in the Premier League, Claudio Ranieri could do with a new striker too with the over-reliance on Aleksandar Mitrovic proving a problem in recent months.
So signing two players from local rivals Chelsea would go a long way to aiding Fulham’s survival bid.
According to The Standard, Fulham are close to signing 33-year-old Gary Cahill while Michy Batshuayi is another Blues outcast on Ranieri’s radar.
The Mirror believes that Fulham are keen on Batshuayi, whose transfer value has tumbled to just £14 million after returning to Stamford Bridge from an underwhelming loan spell from Valencia. Cahill, meanwhile, is expected to arrive on a short-term loan.
And, should Cahill and Batshuayi arrive in a bargain double-deal, they would be two very welcome additions for a team who are conceding too many at one end and not scoring enough at the other.
Ranieri told BT Sport that his side need a leader and 33-year-old Cahill, who has won almost everything there is at Chelsea, certainly fits the bill.
Batshuayi, meanwhile, showed in spells at Marseille and Borussia Dortmund that he can be a reliable source of goals if given regular starts.
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