Why Fulham Are Right In Slapping A £7million Price Tag On Kevin McDonald
Fulham are believed to have placed a large price tag on Kevin McDonald in order ward off potential suitors of the popular midfielder.
Nottingham Forest want to sign the man who very nearly helped Fulham to a play-off final place last season but the £7million asking price, which would be a club record for them, should be enough to put them off. Fulham’s move suggests they are not interested in cashing in on their assets and are unwilling to provide strength to their Championship rivals.
McDonald and Tom Cairney have been the subject of interest from other clubs for a while now, though unlike in the case of Cairney and Newcastle, the West London club are taking exception to Forest’s rather public attempt to unsettle McDonald.
True, every player could be allowed to leave if the price were right, otherwise Fulham could have simply put up the ‘not for sale’ sign on McDonald. The £3million offered by Forest may well have been accepted by other clubs, given that he is 28 now and is unlikely to increase in value any further.
Fulham, however, see things differently and to their great credit, value McDonald’s presence more than a few extra quid in the bank. McDonald is seen as a crucial part of the Fulham midfield and he is someone they’ll need if they are to get promotion this time. After all, a promotion worth tens of millions of pounds is a lot more important than squeezing a little extra out of Nottingham Forest.
Fulham seem to have recognised the openness of the upcoming Championship season. There is no Brighton and no Newcastle and your guess is as good as mine as to who should be favourites for automatic promotion. Slavisa Jokanovic has recognised that Fulham are live contenders to finish in the top 2 now but that will not happen if they lose their best performers.
Make no mistake, Fulham see themselves as title contenders this year and I can see why. Even if they do lose not just Ryan Sessegnon but Tom Cairney too, the likes of Malone, Johansen and of course McDonald are more than capable of leading a team to the top end of the division.
Jokanovic seems a canny manager and as such, he will have a replacement lined up just in case. If the £7million price tag sends Forest packing as expected, he ends up keeping his main man. If they pay it, he has increased funds for replacements.