Fulham, under Slaviša Jokanović, missed out on Premier League promotion back in 2016-17 despite clinching a playoff place but maintained their resilience last term and defeated Aston Villa in the Championship play-off final last season, to return to the English top tier for the first time since being relegated in 2014. The Cottagers, meanwhile, have surprised many with their spending splurge and they are now close to signing Swansea City centre-back, Alfie Mawson, as reported by Sky Sports.
Mawson, a young English talent, is no short of suitors and the Swans, being relegated to the Championship, are holding out for more than £20m to sanction his departure, which could be finalized in the upcoming days. Jokanović had a stable central defensive duo last season in the form of Denis Odoi and Tim Ream both of whom are in their 30s,
So, he is eyeing a youthful individual with Premier League expertise. The 24-year-old former England U21 international progressed through the non-league and lower league sides of English football and was a low-key signing for the Welsh outfit following only four league outings for Barnsley in the second tier. However, he soon emerged as a first-team regular due to his calm and composed nature at the back and played his part in Swansea escaping a relegation scare a couple of seasons back.
Although the Swans failed to script a similar escape last term, Mawson maintained his reputation in deep defence and was one of the brightest sparks of an underperforming squad. The 6 ft 2 in centre-back is energetic, focused, reads the game well and covers a lot of ground to offer support to his fellow defensive resources.
He is a threat from indirect set-pieces and also has impressive passing attributes – both long balls as well as short passes. Mawson prefers to play the ball out from the back and dribble past the opponents to build the game up from a deeper role over making long clearances – a distinguished attribute that suits Jokanović for the brand of football he has offered in his managerial realm.
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Fulham have already roped in Nice duo Jean Seri and Maxime Le Marchand, ex-Besiktas custodian Fabri along with former Chelsea wide attacker Andre Schürrle on a two-year loan deal from Borussia Dortmund. Seri and Schrulle, in particular, are high-profile recruits who will boost their midfield as well as attack significantly, yet the Cottagers must wrap up a deal for Alfie Mawson at the earliest in order to make them competent enough to retain their top-flight status for the years to come.
