Fulham defender, Ryan Fredericks has been linked with a move to Crystal Palace. The Englishman has played a crucial part in Fulham’s push towards Premier League qualification. The Cottagers missed a golden opportunity to move directly to the Premier League as they faltered on the final day against Birmingham City. However, they are in the playoff finals and are just one win away from getting back in the English top flight.
Fredericks has been a consistent feature for the Cottagers at the right back spot and has featured 47 times this season. The defender has been plying his trade at Craven Cottage since 2015 and has made the right-back spot his own over the course of time. His contract is set to expire at the end of the season and the Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic will probably be looking to keep him at the club for next few years as well.
According to reports, the defender was offered an extension last year but he declined as he wanted to move to a Premier League club. Fredericks’ future at Craven Cottage hinges on the playoff final as they will be taking on Aston Villa. The Cottagers will certainly start as the favourites and Fredericks is supposed to play a big role in that crucial encounter.
Crystal Palace had a shocking start to their season under the highly rated Frank De Boer. The Dutchman was shown the door after Palace were pointless in their first seven games. They appointed the veteran former England manager Roy Hodgson and he took them to safety with relative comfort in the end as they finished eleventh.
Hodgson and sporting director Dougie Freedman recently were present to witness the second leg of the playoffs where the Cottagers got the better of Derby County. The rumours are that they wanted to witness their possible summer signing from close quarters.
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The Eagles will be looking to build on the platform from where they left off this season. They finished the season on a high as they were unbeaten in their last six games. On the back of such results, Hodgson has been nominated for Premier League’s Manager of the Year. He will certainly look to bring in reinforcements in the summer so that they continue their climb in English football. This season, they deployed Martin Kelly and Timothy Fosu Mensah in the right back position. Mensah’s loan spell is set to end soon and he will be going back to his parent club Manchester United. So Fredericks will certainly add more depth in that position for the Eagles and will most likely be the first choice starter if Hodgson manages to sign him.
