Fulham have emerged as leading contenders to sign Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun as journalist Simon Jones shares what he knows.
Who will Fulham sign?
Marco Silva has seen free agent Adama Traore, defender Calvin Bassey and striker Raul Jimenez come through the door at Craven Cottage, but as we approach the final stretch of this transfer window, time is running out to make more signings.
Traore put pen to paper on a Fulham deal after leaving Wolves on a Bosman, joining Jimenez in swapping Molineux for west London, while the highly-rated Bassey's £18.2 million move from Ajax arguably comes as the most exciting of their new additions.
Deadline day on September 1 is just around the corner, meaning Fulham boss Silva has just over two weeks to properly reinforce his squad as we begin the new campaign.
The Whites started off brightly, having sealed a 1-0 win away to Everton at Goodison Park last weekend courtesy of a late strike from Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
Silva, speaking to the press around a fortnight ago, was adamant there is still plenty of work for Fulham to do this window as he attempts to strengthen key areas.
“Unfortunately, we need many still. We have some important players injured,” Silva said.
“I hope they can come sooner. We have just two full backs, we need a midfielder too and we have just two wingers so we need another two wingers.
“We have completed our central defenders. I needed these players 15 days or 20 days ago, not now.”
Fulham appear determined to add more firepower, leading to them chasing deals for Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi as well as Everton forward Demarai Gray.
The west Londoners, according to a new report by The Daily Mail and reporter Jones, now also have Arsenal's in-demand striker Balogun in their sights.
The USA international, who enjoyed a fine scoring campaign on loan at Reims last season, could be sold for the right price as Arsenal demand around £45 million.
Fulham are around £10m short of that asking price as things stand, but in a promising bit of further news, it is believed they're also "currently frontrunners" and in pole position right now.
Silva and co are attempting to upgrade their striking options as their current star Aleksandar Mitrovic.could still make a move to Saudi Arabia.
How good is Folarin Balogun?
The young attacker racked up an exceptional 22 goals in all competitions during his temporary spell in France last term, numbers which may well have turned Fulham's head.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, commenting on Balogun's form this year, also says there are many attractive facets to his game.
“He’s a boy that has a really clear idea of what he wants to do with his career. He’s really ambitious, really committed and really brave," said Arteta.
“We discussed a lot before he made that move whether it was the right place to go and the other choices he had. He was so convinced. I’m really happy for him because he deserves what he’s getting.
“When you look at the numbers and what he is doing, it’s just incredible. It’s very rare to see that. But he’s got something special."
