Fulham

Fulham sensation Ryan Sessegnon is reportedly ready to extend his contract at Craven Cottage amid speculation over a summer exit. 

According to Matt Hughes of The Times, the 18-year-old is set to commit his future to Fulham following their promotion to the Premier League, temporarily putting an end to rumours over an exit. Sessegnon's Fulham team-mate Tom Cairney is also said to be close to a new deal.

As noted by Hughes, Manchester United were interested in signing the England youth international in January, but he opted to stay with the London club and contribute to what was a successful promotion push in the end.

Earlier in the season Sessegnon was also linked with a move to European champions Real Madrid, per AS (h/t TalkSport).

Given the speculation, getting promoted to the Premier League for Fulham was always going to be important in keeping their star man around. They eventually made it to the top fight through the play-offs, beating Aston Villa 1-0 at Wembley in May.

Getting through to the final was in large parts down to Sessegnon, as the teenager enjoyed an extraordinary campaign, netting 16 goals and laying on six assists in the Championship. When his team required someone to make the difference late in the season, the youngster was able to do so:

Fulham's three goals in the Championship play-offs:

⚽️ Ryan Sessegnon
🅰️ Ryan Sessegnon
🅰️ Ryan Sessegnon

What a pass. What a talent. pic.twitter.com/0hjgSBu3sV

— Squawka (@Squawka) May 26, 2018

Sessegnon had previously been utilised as a left-back or a wing-back prior to the 2017-18 season, although manager Slavisa Jokanovic opted to push him further forward last year. 

James Benge of the Evening Standard compared Sessegnon to some of the best players on the planet:

Sometimes it feels lazy and reductive to say it but Sessegnon really reminds me of Bale.

Maybe a bit of Muller/Zaha as well in his ability to find space in decisive areas but the menace when he carries the ball (less so in these playoff games) is so Bale-esque.

— James Benge (@jamesbenge) May 14, 2018

At the moment, Fulham feels like the right environment for the youngster to continue his progression, especially for a young footballer who only just turned 18.

At Craven Cottage the winger has a manager who knows how to get the best from him and in this setup he'll play regular games in the top flight next season. It'll be a step forward for Sessegnon without having to uproot and move elsewhere.

As relayed by Scouted Football, it's clear Sessegnon has an affinity with the capital club, too:

Ryan Sessegnon (18) on winning promotion to the Premier League:

"It's an amazing feeling. Nothing can top that in my life. It's the best feeling in my football career so far, in my short journey.

"To do it for my boyhood club? It's a dream, really."

⚪⚫ pic.twitter.com/ndZkR9dj0m

— SCOUTED (@scoutedftbl) May 29, 2018

You sense that lucrative offers for Sessegnon have been mooted already. However, there's no need to rush for someone who is still in the infancy of what should be a prosperous career.

Several Fulham players were caught in a sting set up by their own club, posing as a teenage girl on social media and sending messages to them.  

The sting was set up to test if the club's under-18 players would respond to the messages, and "several players" were reported to have replied, per the Times (via Martin Robinson of the MailOnline) on Monday.

The club used an "online expert" to set up the test two years ago. The news comes after former England and Sunderland winger Adam Johnson was convicted of child sex offences, guilty of grooming a 15-year-old girl online. 

According to Robinson, the operation was "unrelated to Johnson's case."

Johnson was proven to have "flirted with the girl on Snapchat, WhatsApp and Facebook," before meeting his victim.

Former Fulham manager Kit Symons told the Times (h/t Robinson) his club actioned the test two years ago to forewarn the players of the dangers of social media:

Some of the young players fell for it as real. It was a short, sharp shock.

You can tell lads about getting caught out and they'll think "oh they won't catch me" and then that happens, they are caught.

You strive to make the club a reflection on your own values and if a player did something against those values you'd feel let down.

There are 30 lads you are father to. You hope when they are away from the working environment that their decision-making is sound.

A Fulham club spokesperson told the MailOnline it had "nothing to do with first team, who would never be tested in this way." The sting was considered an "educational exercise for the club's young professionals in the youth team," per Robinson. 

The spokesperson said, per Robinson: "One of the players accepted a Facebook friend request and another did the same and sent an innocent message. There was nothing untoward at all."

Robinson added: "The FA has a code of conduct for social media use for players and is visiting clubs to meet players."

Ten-man Fulham were hammered 5-0 by Watford at Craven Cottage to take the Hornets back into the Championship play-off places.

Almen Abdi put the Hornets' ahead after 15 minutes with a low, driven free kick.

Before the Cottagers could respond, they found themselves losing 2-0 and down to 10 men inside 20 minutes as Marcus Bettinelli brought down Matej Vydra in the box.

Troy Deeney, who converted the resulting penalty, then added a third goal before the break as the Hornets dominated the first half from start to finish.

Shortly after the restart, Abdi grabbed a brace to remove any traces of doubt with a magnificent strike into the top corner.

Not to be outdone, Deeney completed the rout and his hat-trick with a cool finish in stoppage time.

Watford move up to sixth in the table, and have firmly re-established themselves as promotion contenders after stopping a run of four consecutive defeats.

Fulham remain four points above the drop zone, but the game is only their second defeat in their last nine.

Kit Symons' men will need to put this blip behind them in order to continue their rise up the table.

Second half: Fulham 0-5 Watford

Abdi 15', 51', Deeney (pen) 19', 37', 90+3'

Bettinelli s/o

Things have gone from bad to worse for Fulham. After being relegated last season, the club have opened their Championship campaign in just about the worst way possible, with six losses and a draw in their first seven matches.    

Given the horrific start, Fulham have decided to part ways with manager Felix Magath. The club released the following statement on their website:

Fulham Chairman Shahid Khan today named Kit Symons as Caretaker Manager of Fulham Football Club and will personally and immediately lead a thorough search for the new First Team Manager of the Club.

Symons, the Under-21s Manager at Fulham, replaces Felix Magath. Mr. Khan today thanked Mr. Magath for his efforts through the final three months of last season in the Barclays Premier League and the first seven matches this season in the Sky Bet Championship.

'This is an unfortunate but necessary change,' Mr Khan said. 'I am doing what I feel is right and needed for Fulham Football Club, for today as well as tomorrow. I thank our supporters for standing by us during these most difficult of times on the pitch, and promise better days ahead.'

Given the shoddy start to the season and Magath's struggles with the club in general, this hardly comes as a shock. In fact, the only person who seems surprised by this at all is the manager himself, per Kevin Palmer of ESPN:

Felix Magath was convinced he was safe in his job after last night's game. What a shock he has just had to get the sack #fulhamfc

— Kevin Palmer 💙 (@RealKevinPalmer) September 18, 2014

As WhoScored.com noted on Twitter, Magath's record with the club was atrocious:

Fulham: Won only 3 of the 19 league games Felix Magath took charge of, scoring 20 goals and conceding 45 #FFC

— WhoScored (@WhoScored) September 18, 2014

And Sam Tighe of Bleacher Report felt the manager's tenure had mercifully drawn to a close:

Finally Felix Magath is sacked. That took way too long. His excuses were getting more and more amusing/painful. #FFC

— Sam Tighe (@stighefootball) September 18, 2014

These are painful days for Fulham supporters. After 13 years in a row of top-flight football in the Premier League they were relegated last season. Still, many fans likely thought the demotion would be a one-year circumstance and the club and its players would soon enough be plying their trade at the top level.   

Instead, after seven games Fulham already find themselves 12 points outside of the last playoff spot. Thankfully they have the majority of the season to reverse course, but the hole they've dug for themselves is formidable.

In other words, Symons has a huge task ahead of him, as even after this start anything less than a place in the playoffs will be deemed a failure for Fulham. At this point, however, there's nowhere to go but up.

On deadline day Fulham sealed a £500,000 deal to bring Leeds Striker Matt Smith to Craven Cottage. The 25-year-old, 6'6" forward has signed a three-year deal with the option for another 12 months.

Smith’s arrival provides Fulham with another forward with experience playing in the Championship, adding to their depth at the position since Ross McCormack and Hugo Rodallega were previously the only veteran choices.

The striker played more than 40 times for Leeds last season and notched 13 goals, having previously made 62 appearances for League One's Oldham Athletic.

As a tall striker, the first thing Smith gives Fulham is an aerial presence they have been missing up front. Smith is a big, powerful forward who can latch onto crosses supplied by Fulham’s young wingers. 

Other forward options such as McCormack and Rodallega are both under 6 feet, and Bryan Ruiz, who has been desperate for a move away from Craven Cottage, has proven unable to cope with the physical demands of the English game.

Smith’s physical ability up front will provide the midfield with a target man, while speedier forwards can run ahead for a ball flicked on. This allows Fulham some tactical versatility and the option of throwing the ball into the penalty area late in games, knowing that Smith can get his head to the ball.

The striker will also be extremely useful defending and attacking corners, providing a real threat when timing a late run at the ball, as evidenced by this late goal in the FA Cup against Everton.

Perhaps the greatest area in which Smith will boost Fulham’s chances this season is in rekindling his blossoming partnership with Ross McCormack. While together at Leeds, the duo combined for 42 goals, a huge total considering that Leeds only scored 59 times in the League last season.

Fulham’s £11 million star has struggled for form and fitness to start the season, although he has improved and scored his first goal for the club in the Capital One Cup. Manager Felix Magath will be hoping that Smith’s arrival will bring the best out of his strike partner, helping McCormack replicate his sensational 29-goal tally from last year.

With McCormack’s playmaking ability, running onto balls flicked on by Smith, Fulham gain a new dimension to their attacking play.

Smith told the club’s website that he is looking forward to being paired with McCormack again: “We formed a good partnership with one another last season and hopefully we’ll see that again at Craven Cottage. It’s a partnership I hope will come to fruition again."

If nothing else, Smith is a cost-effective option for Fulham to add some depth and quality to their squad, something much-needed after the expensive flop of Kostas Mitroglou last season.

Fulham will hope to stabilise their season after a disastrous start. Dreams of an immediate return to the Premier League may be dashed already, but there is no reason to believe that Smith can grow with some of the young starlets in this Fulham squad as they look to gain promotion in the near future.

At just £500,000, Smith represents something of a bargain in this summer’s market, one that has seen Fulham overpay for proven Championship quality in McCormack. Smith should prove a savvy signing for Fulham, and if he can help get the best out of his strike partner and halt the club’s rapid descent down the table then he will prove well worth the money.

With Bryan Ruiz's club, Fulham, relegated to the Championship, should a Premier League team give the 28-year-old, 6'2", 174-pound Costa Rican international another chance?

To address that question, this article grades Ruiz's performance against Italy at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

It will also provide a scouting report on his season with Fulham and his loan spell at PSV Eindhoven.

Ruiz vs. Italy Grade: A+

Ruiz has bought into Costa Rica national team manager Jorge Luis Pinto. 

"We know that Italy is a very difficult opponent," Pinto said, per David Hytner at the Guardian. "But we are confident that we will be able to repeat our performance [3-1 win over Uruguay]."

Pinto was vindicated by Ruiz. 

Getting to Costa Rica left-back Junior Diaz's cross, Ruiz directs the ball past Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon for the only goal of the game: 

Playing behind Costa Rica centre-forward Joel Campbell, Ruiz outperformed Italian centre-forward Mario Balotelli.

	Bryan Ruiz	Mario Balotelli
Goals	1	0
Shots	2	3
Shots On Target	2	1
Assists	0	0
Key Passes	2	0

Another aspect of Ruiz's game that you liked was his passing, as he completed 90 percent of his passes, per Squawka.com. 

The general criticism of Ruiz is him not coming up big in important moments. 

Like Hernan Medford's winner for Costa Rica against Sweden at the 1990 World Cup, Ruiz's goal has propelled Costa Rica into the second round of the World Cup: 

Ruiz Fulham/PSV Eindhoven Positives

Ruiz is a smart and rangy footballer, who can play as a No. 9, a No. 10 and a No. 11. 

He delivers first-rate left-footed crosses with then-Fulham (now Monaco) centre-forward Dimitar Berbatov and then-Fulham (now Aston Villa) centre-back Philippe Senderos, cashing in during Fulham's 4-1 win over Crystal Palace. 

Crafty, dependable and experienced, Ruiz outperformed PSV young gun Zakaria Bakkali, who hit a brick wall after scoring a hat-trick against NEC Nijmegen.

League Only	Bryan Ruiz	Zakaria Bakkali
Goals	5	3
Shots Per Goal	5.4	6.3
Assists	2	0
Key Passes Per Game	1.0	0.8
Dribbles Per Game	1.4	1.5

Ruiz possesses world-class technique. 

After side-stepping NEC central midfielder Ryan Koolwijk, Ruiz nutmegs NEC utility player Navarone Foor and accelerates away. 

Pivoting away from a tackle, Ruiz takes Ajax left-back Nicolai Boilesen out of position and dinks the ball to PSV centre-forward Jurgen Locadia.

With languid Dimitar Berbatov-like movement, Ruiz dawdles into the NEC penalty box and casually slots the ball past NEC goalkeeper Karl-Johan Johnsson. 

Ruiz Fulham/PSV Eindhoven Negatives

Fulham invested £10.6 million in Ruiz, per BBC Sport, primarily based on his 24-goal haul during the 2009-10 Eredivisie season for Twente. Only then-Ajax (now Liverpool) deep-lying forward Luis Suarez scored more (35). 

Since then, Ruiz scored eight goals and registered 13 assists in 68 Premier League games for Fulham.   His 21 total Premier League goals have cost Fulham around £504,762 per goal. 

In comparison, Liverpool invested £22.7 million in Suarez, per BBC Sport. Suarez's 92 total Premier League goals (69 goals, 23 assists) equate to £246,739 per goal.

Ruiz's skill level is comparable to Suarez. But the two are separated by Suarez's Michael Jordan-like competitive drive:

Ruiz is content floating in and out of games, while Suarez spends every minute of the game thinking: "What do I need to do to impact the game so my team can win." 

Bottom Line

Ruiz scored a career-defining goal against Italy at the World Cup.  

In two World Cup games for Costa Rica, Ruiz has started in wins over a Suarez-less Uruguay and Italy. 

A Premier League club should give Ruiz a shot because he is technically brilliant. If a team is built around him, he can rectify his reputation in the Premier League. 

@allanjianga

+allanjiang

Statistics via WhoScored.com

Updates from Thursday, Feb. 20

Fulham has provided a statement from Felix Magath:

Original Text

With Fulham struggling at the bottom of the EPL table and in grave danger of being relegated, the club decided to make a significant change on Friday, by hiring Felix Magath as their new manager, according to the team's official website.

Magath's hiring also spelled the end of Rene Meulensteen's short stint at Craven Cottage as the embattled manager was fired, per Sky Sports News:

Fulham later confirmed the move:

However, The Independent's Sam Wallace reports that Meulensteen has merely changed roles with the club:

Eurosport provides Meulensteen's thoughts:

While changing Meulensteen's title likely won't upset Fulham fans considering how disastrous the 2013-14 season has been, there is some question regarding the logic behind replacing him with Magath.

Associated Press reporter Rob Harris added why Fulham fans shouldn't be surprised by this recent move:

The 60-year-old Magath is a veteran manager of the German Bundesliga, but he has been unable to stick with one club for more than four years at a time. Paralympics director of media and communications Craig Spence believes that means the relationship between Magath and Fulham is bound to fail:

Fulham owner Shahid Khan does not share Spence's point of view, however, as he expressed a great deal of optimism in terms of Magath turning around his moribund club, according to Fulham's official press release.

I am very happy to welcome Felix Magath to Fulham Football Club. Felix is an accomplished manager with multiple honors in the Bundesliga and a hunger to replicate his success with Fulham in the Barclays Premier League. I'm especially impressed with the reputation Felix has for coming into clubs at difficult times, often late in the season, and lifting them to their potential and beyond. Felix knows that is precisely the task awaiting him at Fulham, and he made it abundantly clear that he wants and is ready for the opportunity.

Despite Fulham's awful record, they have shown signs of life recently with a one-goal loss to Liverpool and a draw against Manchester United in their past two contests. Perhaps the arrival of a well-known manager like Magath can help change the culture.

Fulham chief executive officer Alistair Mackintosh is expecting that to be the case, per the press release.

The opportunity to bring in a manager with the experience of Felix Magath would typically be unlikely at this point in the season. However, Felix relishes this challenge. He is very impressed with our squad and commitment by Mr. Khan, and his confidence is precisely what we need over these final three months of the season. I thank Mr. Khan for his support and we are all looking forward to welcoming Felix to Fulham.

With 12 matches left to be played, there is still plenty of time for a Fulham turnaround. They are four points out of escaping the relegation zone, and getting to that point is absolutely an attainable goal.

It remains to be seen how good of a fit Magath will be over the long haul, but there is little doubt that a spark was needed in the interim, and Magath may be just the man to provide it.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter

Fulham have signed Tottenham midfielder Lewis Holtby on loan and snapped up the permanent services of Olympiacos striker Kostas Mitroglou as the club bid to escape relegation from the Premier League.

Update from Friday, Jan. 31

The official Fulham website confirmed news of Mitroglou's arrival:

Fulham Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of Greece international Konstantinos Mitroglou on a four-and-a-half year deal for an undisclosed fee, seeing the player at Craven Cottage until the summer of 2018. 

Rio Ferdinand quickly reacted to the news by pointing out the additional benefit to Manchester United:

---Original Text---

Fulham had earlier confirmed Holtby's move via their official Twitter account:

Sky Sports tweeted a video of Holtby training with the West London club on Friday:

Fulham have won just three times in nine games since Rene Meulensteen was promoted to replace Martin Jol, and they currently sit 19th in the Premier League table on 19 points.

A 6-0 defeat at Hull and a 4-1 home loss against Sunderland have left the Cottagers looking like relegation candidates, but Meulensteen has decided to do something about it by leaping into action in the transfer market.

The addition of 23-year-old Holtby adds some energy to a midfield that currently consists of Scott Parker, 33, and Steve Sidwell, 31.

On the official club website, Fulham confirmed he will wear the No. 10 shirt, and he will be expected to add some more creativity to the side along with Clint Dempsey who also joined on loan this month.

Former Arsenal target Holtby arrived at Tottenham last January from Schalke with a big reputation, but he has failed to make the expected impact and has fallen out of favour under new head coach Tim Sherwood.

Tottenham's midfield looks overstocked, meaning Holtby could be available for a permanent move in the summer. That means Fulham should benefit from the arrival of the Germany international, and Holtby will feel he has something to prove in order to put his career back on track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnbPoWBK-Ok

Mitroglou, meanwhile, will arrive at Craven Cottage with a lot of expectation after scoring 21 goals in 23 games for club and country this season, per Soccerbase.

Bryan Ruiz has been allowed to leave the club and Dimitar Berbatov could also be headed for the exit, while Darren Bent and Hugo Rodallega have failed to take their chances.

With so many out-of-sorts strikers in his ranks, Meulensteen is gambling on the unproven Mitroglou to provide the firepower to shoot Fulham to safety.

But given their sticky situation at the foot of the table, the club have little choice but to take a chance in order to stay in the top flight.

Fulham have announced the temporary signature of Stuttgart midfielder William Kvist, who signs on loan with the West Londoners for the remainder of the 2013-14 campaign. 

The club's official Twitter account confirmed the news:

Kvist joins up with the Cottagers in a bid to provide further cover in the middle of the park, with Scott Parker and Steve Sidwell having accounted for most of the minutes in Rene Meulensteen's engine room this season.

Speaking to the Cottagers' official club website after the loan deal became official, Kvist is quoted as saying:

I’m very pleased to have got the deal done and I’m looking forward to contributing to this fantastic Club. Of course I’ve heard a lot of good things from Brede [Hangeland] and it’s been a target of mine to come here so I’m delighted to be here really.

The Premier League is the biggest league in the world. I’ve played in the Bundesliga which is also a really nice league, but this is the biggest challenge you could get as a footballer – this is the motherland of football. When I was a child I used to just watch English football on television so it’s amazing being here.

The 28-year-old has moved in an effort to come upon more playing time, his involvement at the Mercedes-Benz Arena having declined of late, following on from disappointing outings.

Kvist has started in 11 Bundesliga games this season, per Transfermarkt, but the midfield anchor will now seek to slip into Meulensteen's plans over the coming weeks.

The Press Association's Simon Peach indicates that the transfer window doesn't stop there for Fulham, however, with more business presumably on the horizon:

Kvist joins the Cottagers' cause at a crucial time, with the club currently 19th in the Premier League standings and currently enduring a three-match losing streak in league matters.

The Dane will seek to improve upon the presence that Derek Boateng has given, or failed to provide, since moving to Craven Cottage as a free transfer over the summer, making just three league appearances since.

For Kvist, it's the ideal opportunity to help the club out of their current lurch, the club mentioning that his contract includes an option to make the deal permanent.