Fulham have completed deals to bring both Nathaniel Chalobah and Domingos Quina to Craven Cottage.
What’s the latest?
In a statement posted on the Fulham website in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the club confirmed that Quina had signed for the Cottagers, with the Watford forward joining on a season-long loan deal and the west London side holding an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season.
Shortly after this announcement, the club revealed in a second statement on their website that Chalobah would be following Quina from Watford to Fulham, with the defensive midfielder joining Marco Silva’s side on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee.
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Silva will be buzzing
With Andre-Frank Anguissa joining Napoli on a season-long loan deal on Tuesday, and the Serie A side having an option to purchase the midfielder for €15m (£12.9m) at the end of the current campaign, it appeared clear that Fulham were in need of a replacement for the Cameroon international.
And, following the last-minute swoop for Chalobah, it would appear as if Silva has his man, with the 26-year-old looking to be a very solid replacement for the departed defensive midfielder.
Indeed, over his 38 Championship appearances for Watford last season, the £4.5m-rated man made an average of 1.4 interceptions, 1.6 tackles, 1.4 clearances and won 5.2 duels per game.
He also chipped in for his side in an attacking capacity, scoring three goals, registering one assist and creating one big chance for his teammates, in addition to making an average of 0.3 key passes per game.
These returns saw the England international earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.85, with the midfielder playing a key role in the club securing automatic promotion to the Premier League.
Meanwhile, the signing of Quina brings further depth in both the central and attacking midfield positions within Silva’s squad, with his addition appearing to be a sensible signing when taking into account the fact that Tom Cairney does not look likely to recover from his knee injury any time soon.
As such, the last-minute signings are sure to have left the Portuguese manager buzzing, as both Chalobah and Quina look to be players who strengthen what seems to already be a very strong Fulham side, who will undoubtedly be one of the favourites for the league title following their summer transfer business and impressive start to the campaign.
In other news: Journo drops Fulham transfer claim on “excellent” £6.3m-rated ace, fans surely buzzing