Why Fulham must go all out to sign Neal Maupay in January
It might have come as a shock for many but Fulham sacked manager Slavisa Jokanovic after the defeat at Liverpool and replaced him with Claudio Ranieri.
With Fulham at the bottom of the league standings with just one win to show for, some big changes were needed at the west London side and unfortunately, Fulham owner Shahid Khan started it with the axing of Slavisa Jokanovic, who guided the Cottagers to Premier League promotion last term.
Now with Claudio Ranieri at the helm, the Fulham fans could be optimistic about a change in club’s fortunes. The Cottagers are at the bottom of the Premier League table and unless the team starts picking up points consistently, it would be a massive struggle for Ranieri and co. to save the Londoners from relegation. So from where should Ranieri start rebuilding his squad?
The focus should mostly be on Fulham’s defensive deficiencies as the team has leaked 31 goals in just 12 games. It won’t be a surprise if Ranieri decides to bring in a couple of defenders in January to stop the rut but he should also consider bolstering his team’s attack that has looked slightly weak in the last few weeks.
The Cottagers spent heavily in the summer on the likes of Jean-Michael Seri, Andre Schurrle, Luciano Vietto and Aleksandar Mitrovic but none of them has managed to consistently deliver the goods this season.
The west London club have scored just 11 times in 12 Premier League matches this season, and their lack of quality options apart from Mitrovic, Schurrle and Vietto looks troublesome.
Ranieri can solve Fulham’s goal-scoring problems by tabling an audacious bid for Brentford forward Neal Maupay. The 22-year-old has been sensational in the Championship and had already bagged 12 goals and 6 assists in just 15 games this season.
The Frenchman, who came through the ranks at Nice to make his debut at the age of just 16, is unproven at the top level but he has shown with during his time at Brentford that he is an exceptional talent who is ready to make the step up to the Premier League.
Though he is primarily a striker, Maupay has the ability to operate as a No.10 or even as a wide-man, too. His versatility would be a huge bonus for Fulham, which means he can play alongside Mitrovic or lead the line by himself.
Read more: Fulham can survive the Premier League by signing this Liverpool outcast – Ranieri must get him
Maupay could prove to be a vital addition to Fulham, who have been desperately short of goals so far this term. At just 22, the Frenchman is very young but the rate at which he has been developing, there are very few doubts about him becoming a world-beater in a few years’ time.