According to the Sun, Fulham manager Claudio Ranieri is desperate to bolster his squad in January to fight off relegation and former Liverpool man Ryan Babel is the latest addition to his shop list.
Babel, who currently plies his trade with Besiktas in the Turkish Super Lig, has only six months remaining on his current contract and has so far refused to put pen to paper on a new deal.
Fulham want the 32-year-old Dutch international on loan till the end of the season and the Turkish giants are ready to sanction that, claims the Sun.
Babel had a hugely successful season in the Turkish top flight last term where he accumulated 13 goals and 6 assists. He has been one event firm this season, scoring four goals in the league but a contract dispute has left him with an insecure future at the club.
A product of the famous Ajax youth system, Babel earned a big money move to Liverpool in 2007 but the Dutchman failed to live up to his billings in the Premier League, registering 22 goals and 18 assists from 146 appearances for the Reds. He was offloaded to German club Hoffenheim and had stints at his former club Ajax, Deportivo La Coruna, Al-Ain and Kasimpasa before joining Besiktas in 2017.
The 32-year-old has managed to string together a consistent run of form in the latter stages of his career at Besiktas, amassing 29 goals and 12 assists from 89 appearances. His late burst of form has seen him earn a place in the Netherlands team for the UEFA Nations League.
Primarily a left-winger by trade, Babel is a powerful and versatile attacker who is equally capable of playing down the right or through the centre as a supporting striker. Standing at 6ft. 1 inch, he is well-built for a winger and he uses his physicality to hold on to the ball to bring his teammates into play and embarks on powerful driving runs with his superior upper body strength.
Babel is a good passer and knows how to link up with his teammates in the final third, creating space for himself to open up the defence and using his vision to release others into open spaces. To add to that, he has a wonderful eye for goal and has the ability to take on the defenders with his trickery. Furthermore, he is adept at making subtle runs behind the backline to get into scoring positions.
To put things into perspective, he would be a wonderful addition to Fulham’s squad in January, particularly with the Cottagers struggling to stay alive in the Premier League.
A man no stranger to the style of play prevalent in England, Babel had loads of experience under his belt which will help Ranieri’s side achieve a better goalscoring record in the second half of the season.
Fulham currently have Andre Schurrle and Ryan Sessegnon as wide options down the left and someone like Babel will add that extra bit of quality to the final third. In fact, he might as well take the goalscoring burden off Aleksandar Mitrovic’s shoulder and get the best out of the Serb with his passing and link up play.
As for Fulham, Ryan Babel can be the difference between survival in the Premier League and a long hard slog in the Championship next season. That said, they should leave no stone unturned in their efforts to lure the Dutchman to Craven Cottage.