According to Sky Sports, Fulham manager Claudio Ranieri is keen to bolster his squad in January to help the Cottagers in their bid for survival in the top-flight.
If reports are to be believed, Ranieri in interested in adding a centre-back, a right-back and a striker in January and Bournemouth’s out of favour youngster Lys Mousset has emerged on his radar.
The 22-year-old has struggled to make an impact on the south coast since making a move from Le Havre back in 2016. The French U21 international’s involvement has been limited to just 7 starts over the course of two seasons.
Granted, Mousset is a promising youngster who can add more depth to Fulham’s squad but the Cottagers need some in-form players to boost their chances of survival. They need s striker who can hit the ground running immediately after making a move in January as the west Londoners are already rock bottom of the table in the relegation zone.
And someone like Dodi Lukebakio definitely fits the bill at Craven Cottage. Much like Lys Mousset, he is a promising youngster and the Belgium-born Congolese striker has been making a lot of noise in the Bundesliga this season.
A product of Anderlecht’s youth system, Lukebakio made his move to Watford in January last season but was loaned out to Fortuna Dusseldorf at the start of the ongoing campaign after making a single Premier League appearance for the Hornets.
The 21-year-old was once again on target in the Bundesliga this week as Fortuna Dusseldorf pulled off a major upset to end Borussia Dortmund’s winning streak. Lukebakio has made eyeballs turn with his consistently impressive performances in the German top flight for a relegation contending club, scoring 7 goals from 14 appearances.
If there is anything that embodies his fine start to the season, it has to be his hat-trick in Fortuna Dusseldorf’s 3-3 draw against Bayern Munich last month. As a matter of fact, Lukenakio became the first player in the history of Bundesliga to net three goals in a single game past Manuel Neuer.
The 21-year-old, who has 12 caps for Belgium at the U21 level, is a tactically versatile attacker with a good enough technique who is capable of playing in a number of positions in the final third. Essentially a left-footed inverted winger or a wide forward down the right, Lukebakio is also capable of playing as a conventional winger down the left and as a centre-forward.
His main attributes are his lightning pace, mesmerizing dribbling skills and instant acceleration. He is adept at cutting inside from the right onto his stronger left foot and creates space for himself to fire powerful shots from outside the box. An explosive attacker, Lukebakio is known for his quick feet, good close control and unpredictable movement in the final third and can be a handful for any opposition on a given day.
To put things into perspective, Fulham need an explosive and energetic player like him to add that cutting-edge to their attack. Andre Schurrle has been inconsistent and the Cottagers have apparently lacked a plan ‘B’ when Aleksandar Mitrovic hasn’t fired.
Given that Lukebakio is currently on loan from Watford, Fulham should try to test their resolve with their financial muscle to cut short the loan agreement and secure his services permanently in January.