Fulham: Cottagers agree £15m deal for Salisu

Marco Silva’s side are also finalising a deal for Ajax’s Calvin Bassey.

Fulham have agreed a £15m deal for Southampton defender Mohammed Salisu, while they are also close to signing Ajax’s Calvin Bassey, according to a report from talkSPORT.

What’s the latest Fulham transfer news?

Fulham have been pursuing a new centre-back during the summer transfer window, with Benfica’s Morato emerging as a major target, having recently made a €25m (£22m) offer for the Brazilian, however they are now set to bring their pursuit to an end.

As reported by the Portuguese media, Benfica “remain adamant” they will not sell the 22-year-old, rejecting the most recent offer made, meaning the Cottagers are set to move on to other targets, with Bassey one of the names on their list.

Marco Silva may have to bring in more than one new defender this summer, amid the uncertainty over Tosin Adarabioyo’s future, with the Englishman’s contract set to expire at the end of next season, meaning it is Fulham’s last chance to cash-in.

Talks over a contract extension for Adarabioyo have broken down, and Tottenham Hotspur have recently asked for more information about the 25-year-old, so he could be on his way to north London this summer.

As such, Silva has set his sights on signing Salisu and Bassey, with talkSPORT reporting they have agreed a £15m deal with Southampton for the former, meaning personal terms are the only thing that need to be finalised.

Sky Sports have reported that AS Monaco also expressed an interest in signing the centre-back, but the French side have had two bids rejected, and it now appears as though the Cottagers have won the race for his signature.

Bassey is also thought to be heading to Craven Cottage, in a deal worth around £18m, and the Ajax defender is set to have his medical and finalise personal terms in the coming days.

How good is Mohammed Salisu?

Lauded as “fantastic” by members of the media, the 24-year-old was one of the few shining lights in the Southampton side that was relegated from the Premier League in the 2022-23 campaign, and he could be a solid acquisition for Fulham.

With an average WhoScored match rating of 6.78 in the top flight, the Saints defender was ranked as the second-best performing player in the squad, averaging more tackles per game than any other member of the team.

Not only is the Ghanaian a very good tackler, he also ranks very highly for clearances and blocks per 90 over the course of the past year, placing in the 96th and 99th percentile in those two areas, when compared to his positional peers.

At 24-years-old, the Southampton star should be entering his prime years, and he has out-performed Adarabioyo on almost every key defensive metric in the past year, indicating he could be a real upgrade on the Englishman.

A fee of just £15m could be an absolute bargain for Salisu, given the level of his performances for Southampton in recent times, and it is promising news that a deal is edging closer towards completion.