Fulham have been dealt a blow in their bid to bring Ike Ugbo to Craven Cottage this summer.
What’s the talk?
That’s according to a claim made by Fabrizio Romano, who revealed in a post on Twitter that the centre-forward is set to leave Chelsea this summer, with Belgian side Genk appearing confident of completing a deal for the 22-year-old.
Romano goes on to state that Besiktas, Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven are also interested in a deal for the centre-forward in the summer transfer window, while earlier reports have also claimed Fulham are keen on the former England U20 international.
Is missing out on Ugbo a big loss?
Yes
No
Silva surely gutted
Considering just how much potential Ugbo appears to possess, the fact that Fulham look set to miss out on the signing of the striker this summer is sure to have left Marco Silva feeling gutted.
Indeed, over his 32 Jupiler Pro League appearances while on loan at Cercle Brugge last season, the £4.05m-rated man bagged a whopping 16 goals, as well as taking an average of 1.8 shots and making 0.5 key passes per game.
These metrics saw the £38k-per-week forward earn a highly impressive average SofaScore match rating of 6.79, ranking him as the club’s eighth-best performer in the top tier of Belgian football.
The 22-year-old also returned impressive numbers during a loan spell at Roda JC Kerkrade in the season prior, scoring 13 goals and providing three assists over 28 appearances in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie.
As such, the addition of the man the Belgian media dubbed a “decisive” player to Silva’s attacking arsenal at Craven Cottage this summer would have certainly provided the club with a boost to their chances of securing an immediate return to the Premier League next season.
However, with it now appearing as if Genk will be the centre-forward’s next destination, the Portuguese Fulham boss will likely have to turn his focus in the transfer market elsewhere, something that will undoubtedly frustrate the 44-year-old.
In other news: Fulham dealt transfer blow over “outstanding” 21 G/A beast, Silva surely gutted