Why Fulham should turn down loan exit for Anthony Knockaert amid interest
According to Sky Sports, Nottingham Forest are interested in signing Fulham winger Anthony Knockaert on loan following the appointment of Chris Hughton at the helm of affairs.
The 28-year-old was an integral part of the Brighton side that won promotion to the Premier League under the stewardship of Hughton back in 2017. The Irishman is keen to reunite with the winger at the City Ground on a temporary basis before the October 16 domestic deadline.
Knockaert is yet to feature for Fulham in the Premier League this season but the report doesn’t mention whether the Cottagers are open to the prospect of sanctioning a loan exit for the Frenchman.
Profile
Anthony Knockaert started his professional career with Guingamp in France before moving to England with Leicester City in the Championship back in the summer of 2012.
He went on to play a key role in the Foxes’ promotion-winning campaign in the second-tier under Nigel Pearson but fell out of favour following the club’s promotion to the top-flight before departing on a free transfer to join Belgian giants Standard Liege in 2015.
The 28-year-old, though, returned to English football with Brighton after just six months in January 2016. Knockaert racked up a career-best tally of 15 goals and 8 assists in the Championship during the 2016-17 season as the Seagulls won automatic promotion to the Premier League.
The Frenchman remained a key player at the Amex Stadium under Chris Hughton over the next two seasons before being deemed surplus to requirements by new boss Graham Potter last summer. Knockaert joined Fulham for £10million earlier this summer, having won promotion to the Premier League for the third time in his career while on loan at Craven Cottage in the Championship last term.
Fulham can’t afford to send Knockaert out on loan
Nottingham Forest’s interest in Anthony Knockaert makes sense for a number of seasons but it would come as a massive shock if Fulham agree to loan him out before next week’s domestic deadline. The 28-year-old might not have played a part in Fulham’s opening four league fixtures so far but Scott Parker certainly hasn’t got a surplus of wide attacking options at his disposal.
Neeskens Kebano, Ivan Cavaleiro, Ademola Lookman, and Bobby Reid are currently the only realistic options down the flanks, so a potential departure for Knockaert would render the Cottagers short of cover in that department.
The Frenchman might not boast an overwhelming track record in the Premier League but he showed at Brighton that he’s more than capable of doing a job as a key squad player in the top-flight.
Having endured a torrid start to life back in the PL, the last thing that Fulham need is to lose a handy operator like Knockaert. He hasn’t started a league game so far but that doesn’t mean the 28-year-old won’t have a part to play moving forward.
Fulham need to ensure that they have adequate depth in their attack, considering the long and hectic schedule of a 38-game campaign, not to mention the challenge of playing in the cup competitions.
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Verdict
Fulham surely wouldn’t have spent a sizable chunk of their transfer budget to sign Anthony Knockaert permanently in the summer had he not been in manager Scott Parker’s plans. The Frenchman brings a lot of experience and depth to the club’s attack and letting him leave on loan wouldn’t make much sense.
