Southampton’s transfer pursuit of Fulham right-back, Ryan Fredericks took a huge blow after the Championship side declared that the player is not for sale. The 25-year-old’s services are tied to the Cottagers only till the summer and clubs are allowed to approach him for a pre-contractual agreement. However, Fulham might just be in talks over an extension and have taken a firm stance over his future.
Fredericks is a product of the Tottenham Hotspur youth academy but could never break into the first team. He managed only 4 appearances for the Spurs senior team before making the switch to Bristol City.
Fredericks developed his game while away on loan spells to Brentford, Millwall and Middlesbrough and established himself as a quality player in the second division. Due to unfortunate circumstances, his stint with the Robbins only lasted 26 days which saw him get featured in 5 games.
The club agreed to let him go and the Potters Bar-born defender left for Craven Cottage. He has racked up 95 appearances in total and has assisted his teammates on 13 occasions. His performances in the previous season under Slavisa Jokanovic has earned him high praise from fans and pundits alike even after the team failed to earn promotion through the playoffs. His only international experience came in the single appearance he made for the England U19 side and is eligible to play for Guyana.
Missing out on his talents have now forced Southampton gaffer Pellegrino to look elsewhere for a replacement. He can consider the following options.
Mathieu Debuchy
The 32-year-old has featured in only 8 games this season and handed just 30 appearances for Arsenal ever since his arrival in the summer of 2014. Debuchy’s career under Arsene Wenger mostly turned sour due to injury concerns which prevented him from getting a favourable run of games. The Frenchman’s short one-and-a-half year stint with Newcastle United impressed Wenger who signed him to replace the very talented Bacary Sagna.
However, now clearly out of favour and ready to be offloaded to West Brom, Pellegrino can make a swoop offer for the veteran.
Ruben Aguilar
The French defender has produced a string of impressive performances in Ligue 1 for Montpellier this season and is also as versatile as Fredericks around the pitch.
Joel Veltman
Veltman is versatile defender representing both Ajax and the Dutch National Team. Veltman has been a staple in Ajax’s defence featuring at both the centre-back and right-back position for the last four years. Specifically, the last two seasons have seen him draw a heavy workload from the Dutch giants.
