Sources: Fulham ready to hijack Nottingham Forest deal as Palhinha move edges closer

Fulham are ready to hijack Nottingham Forest’s deal for Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana as they look to get a replacement lined up for Bayern Munich target Joao Palhina, sources have told Football Insider.

Fulham are drawing up a list of targets in case they lose Palhina to Bayern in the final 48 hours of the window and Fofana figures highly on their list.

Fofana, 24, has been held talks over joining Forest, but now Fulham could now ambush their Premier League rivals by agreeing a deal for the France international.

On Wednesday (30 August), Football Insider revealed that Bayern are stepping up their pursuit of Palhinha and are ready to test the English club’s resolve ahead of the close of the transfer window on Friday (1 September).

Thomas Tuchel has made the 28-year-old his top target as he looks for a defensive-minded midfielder to add to his ranks.

Fulham are reluctant to lose Palhinha so late in the window but have picked out Fofana as a replacement should they lose their current star.

Fofana’s current contract at Monaco runs until 2024 but includes the option of a further year.

The Frenchman joined the Ligue 1 club from Strasbourg in 2020 and has made 143 appearances in that time, netting three goals and offering up 11 assists.

Fulham have started their 2023-24 campaign well.

The Cottagers rescued a point against last season’s runners-up Arsenal on Saturday (26 August) before knocking Tottenham out of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday (29 August).

In other news, Kieran Maguire drops Shahid Khan verdict after £13m Fulham reveal.

 

READ MORE.

Kieran Maguire drops Shahid Khan verdict after £13m Fulham reveal

Shahid Khan converting loans into shares has kept the balance sheet tidy and gross debt low at Fulham.

That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about Fulham’s latest loan conversion.As revealed by Football Insider on Thursday (24 August), the London club have been able to write off £13million worth of loans by converting it into shares.

A new Companies House submission was filed stating that 13 million new shares were allotted at £1 each.

As per Fulham’s 2021/22 accounts, the club’s gross debt stands at just £1million with Khan regularly converting debt into equity.

Maguire insists that Khan is aware that his loans to the club are very unlikely to be repaid given the ongoing costs of wages and transfer fees.

“Shahid Khan knew that every time he loaned money to Fulham the chances of that being repaid during his period of ownership were close to zero,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.

“The demands of the club in terms of wages or transfer fees made it very unlikely.

“So it does make sense to regularly write down those loans by converting them into shares and ultimately it means that if he sells the club at some point he’ll recover the money he loaned the club.