Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic wants to keep Tottenham target Ryan Sessegnon at Craven Cottage.
Leyton Orient’s Harry Cornick and Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon in action
Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic has told BBC Sport that he hopes left back Ryan Sessegnon will stay with the club long-term.
Whilst the Cottagers have done some impressive business in the transfer market this summer by landing David Button, Dennis Odoi, Kevin McDonald, Sone Aluko and Floyd Ayite, the attention is currently on an academy product.
Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic
Fulham currently sit in fifth place in the Championship table after an unbeaten start to the campaign, and one of their goalscorers in the 2-2 draw with Cardiff City on Saturday was 16-year-old Ryan Sessegnon.
Primarily a left back, Sessegnon made his first Championship start against Leeds United last week, and then came on as a first-half substitute against Cardiff on Saturday, notching the opening goal just three minutes after his introduction.
Touted as one of English football’s top young talents, Sessegnon is unsurprisingly attracting admiring glances from some of the Premier League’s top clubs.
The Mirror reported at the end of last season that Arsenal and Liverpool are both keen on Sessegnon, but the club most strongly linked with Sessegnon right now is Tottenham Hotspur.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino has earned a reputation for developing young English talent having turned Eric Dier, Dele Alli and Harry Kane into international stars, and they seemingly want to add Sessegnon too.
Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic
The Sun report that Tottenham have been quoted a huge £8m for Sessegnon, and he’d be able to learn behind the likes of Danny Rose and Ben Davies – but Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic doesn’t intend on losing his wonderkid just yet.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Jokanovic suggested that he doesn’t want to put great pressure on such a young player, but responded to the transfer rumours by stating that the teenager’s future lies with Fulham.
“He is a very interesting project as a player, but it is better not to put him under any pressure,” said Jokanovic. “He is a young player and he will participate in the future and help us. He has many years of being a player ahead of him,” he added.
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