Fulham missed out on a deal for Hugo Mallo.
According to a report in AS, Celta Vigo have rewarded right-back Hugo Mallo with a new contract after the player opted against joining Premier League newcomers Fulham late in the transfer window.
With the Cottagers spending most of their summer focusing on bringing in a new left-back, it seemed they forgot about replacing Ryan Fredericks at right-back right up until the transfer deadline day.
Celta Vigo’s talented full-back Mallo emerged as a reported target for the west London club, with Marca claiming on Wednesday that Fulham had launched a £9 million bid for the player.
But The Sun later reported how the 27-year-old opted against a move to Craven Cottage, with AS now confirming his loyalty to Celta has been rewarded to the tune of a new five-year contract on improved wages.
The former U21 international has spent his entire career at Celta and his new deal is a real bonus for the La Liga club as they seek to hold on to their better players ahead of the deadline day for the rest of Europe.
As for Fulham, they did manage to sign Timothy Fosu-Mensah on loan from Manchester United and it appears the youngster may become the club’s number one right-back with Calum Chambers also an option.
It leaves question marks over the future of Cyrus Christie, with the Republic of Ireland international barely featuring last term following his January switch from Middlesbrough.
Slavisa Jokanovic will have wanted to sign the experienced Mallo ahead of the deadline but missing out on the Spaniard shouldn’t detract from what has been an excellent summer for the newly-promoted club.
Fulham have spent over £70 million and have made some excellent additions, with Jean Seri, Andre Schurrle and Aleksandar Mitrovic arguably the most impressive and the most likely to help the club in their fight for Premier League survival.
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