Fulham are said to be interested in Gokhan Gonul and that could be bad news for a current player.
According to a report in the Daily Mail (live blog, 12:31 on Wednesday), Fulham are interested in signing Besiktas right-back Gokhan Gonul following Ryan Fredericks’ exit.
The report claims that Fulham have already made an enquiry for the Turkey international, as they appear keen to bring in a ready-made replacement for Fredericks who joined West Ham United on a free transfer.
But what does Fulham’s reported interest in Gonul tell us about the future of Cyrus Christie? After all, the former Derby County right-back has similar attributes to Fredericks and would be considered a direct replacement.
The 25-year-old only joined the Whites from Middlesbrough in January, but it appears he has not really convinced boss Slavisa Jokanovic who, by targeting Gonul, is seemingly after more experience.
Christie is a decent right-back but there are question marks over his defensive capabilities, and perhaps the Premier League would be a level too far for him at this stage of his career.
The Republic of Ireland international barely featured over the past six months as he played back-up to Fredericks, and Fulham’s immediate interest in Gonul suggests his first-team future at Craven Cottage is bleak.
He would make a decent option for several Championship clubs, so Fulham would not have to worry about his value depreciating, and he still has the best years of his career ahead of him.
Perhaps Fulham will want to keep him around as a back-up option for their top-flight campaign, although at this stage of his career Christie arguably needs regular first-team football and he is not likely to find that at Craven Cottage.
He has only featured for a total of 144 minutes in a Fulham shirt since joining the club from Boro six months ago, and he would have been hoping that Fredericks’ exit would give him a clear path to the first-team.
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