Fulham haven’t had the best of starts to their return to the Premier League, but despite only picking up seven points from their first 11 games back in the top-flight, they remain one point above the relegation zone.
If the season ended today, Fulham would remain in the Premier League, and while a 17th-placed finish is far from inspiring, it is something to build on.
With Fulham’s FFP picture looking rather murky due to the continued amortisation of the signings they made in the summer of 2018, the Whites weren’t able to spend massively in the summer, spending relatively low fees on Harrison Reed, Tosin Adarabioyo, Kenny Tete and Antonee Robinson, while the rest of their deals consisted of loans.
However, those loan deals indicate that a flurry of spending may be just around the corner at Craven Cottage, with the London outfit holding an option to buy Ola Aina, Alphonse Areola and Mario Lemina.
While there are question marks around whether or not Fulham should sign Aina on a permanent deal after his somewhat shaky start to life back in England, there can’t be any questions about the permanent signing of Areola.
The fact that he’s an ex-PSG and Real Madrid player, and he’s playing at Fulham tells you all you need to know about how much of a coup his loan signing was, and his performances so far have certainly indicated that his stay should be made permanent.
Areola has the fourth-highest save percentage of any goalkeeper in the Premier League, and that’s despite having to face the third-most shots of any glovesman in the division.
A goalkeeper can single-handedly win you points, especially when you’re battling down the bottom of the division, and while Marek Rodak was fantastic last season, you can’t turn down the chance of keeping a player of Areola’s calibre.
Of course, this deal won’t be cheap, but if Fulham stay up, they will have money to spend and millions of that potential windfall should already be set aside for the permanent signing of the Frenchman.
If Fulham stay up, this should be their first piece of business in the summer of 2021.
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