According to Football London, Watford’s out of favour centre-forward Stefano Okaka has attracted interest from Fulham’s new manager Claudio Ranieri.
Ranieri was unveiled as the few face of Fulham following the sacking of Slavisa Jokanovic after the Serb managed to guide the Cottagers to only a solitary win from ten games in the Premier League.
And the veteran has made his intentions quite clear that he wants to bolster the squad with new faces in January. Joel Matip (Bleacher report) has emerged as a transfer target for the Cottagers, which is quite understandable given that Fulham are in dire need of centre-backs to add stability to the backline.
Despite signing players like Aleksandar Mitrovic (loan deal made permanent), Andre Schurrle (two-year loan deal from Dortmund), and Jean Michael Seri in the summer, Fulham have found it difficult to cope with the quality of the Premier League.
While Schurrle and Mitrovic have proven their worth with valuable strikes, much of Fulham’s woes have been down to their porous backline which has leaked goals at an alarming rate.
In fact, the Cottagers have the worst defensive record in the Premier League, having already conceded 31 goals from their first 12 games. On many occasions, the Cottagers haven’t been able to see off the games even after drawing first blood.
As things stand, Ranieri needs to bring in radical reinforcements to bolster his squad and give himself a chance of fighting the odds of a relegation battle that does not seem to be in Fulham’s favour at the moment.
If these twelve games in the Premier League are anything to go by, Fulham need to add some quality players at the back. Jokanovic tried out several combinations in the heart of the defence but neither of them could provide that much-needed stability.
Tim Ream, Maxime Le Marchand, Denis Odoi and Calum Chambers have struggled to keep pace with the Premier League, leaving the goalkeeper virtually helpless on most occasions.
Pursuing a keen interest in a creative midfielder who is capable of operating as a No.10 would also make a lot of sense for Fulham, particularly because of the fact that the team has lacked someone who can establish a link between defence and attack. Tom Cairney has struggled with injuries and Seri’s influence seems to have faded away as the season has progressed.
To put things into perspective, signing someone like Stefano Okaka could prove to be detrimental to Fulham’s chances of survival in the Premier League. The 29-year-old has been frozen out of the first-team by Watford manager Javi Gracia and has managed only a solitary substitute appearance in the Premier League this term.
In Aleksandar Mitrovic, Luciano Vietto and Ander Schurrle, Fulham have one of the most impactful strike forces in the Premier League outside of the top six. Aboubakar Kamara is a good option to have on the bench who is capable of chipping in with important goals.
Going by the statistics, Okaka is not the most prolific striker in the Premier League. He didn’t even cross the 10-goal mark during his time in the Serie A with Roma and Sampdoria and he has never been seen as a first-team option at Vicarage Road.
Having said that, Ranieri should shift his focus to other players to bolster his squad in January. Signing a creative midfielder and a centre-back should be the way forward for the club during the mid-season trading period.