Fulham close to deals for Southampton's Mohammed Salisu and Calvin Bassey of Ajax
Southampton defender Salisu will cost Fulham £15m; Bassey looks set to sign for £18m in what has been a summer of uncertainty at Craven Cottage with Marco Silva and Alekander Mitrovic both linked with moves to Saudi Arabia
Saturday 22 July 2023 15:32, UK
Fulham are close to finalising deals for defensive duo Mohammed Salisu and Calvin Bassey.
A deal for Southampton defender Salisu is close with the fee thought to be worth more than £15m.
However, Monaco are also interested and have had two bids rejected for a player who is out of contract next summer.
Fulham are also finalising a deal with Ajax for defender Bassey, with £18m thought to be enough to secure the signature.
Bassey is expected to have medical and finalise personal terms in the coming days.
Uncertainty regarding Silva & Mitrovic
Interest from Al Hilal in striker Aleksandr Mitrovic has sparked a fall-out between Fulham and their top scorer from last season, who reluctantly boarded their flight to the USA for pre-season.
Al Ahly, who are working to sign Riyad Mahrez and Allan Saint-Maximin to join Roberto Firmino, want a quick answer as they are in a training camp in Austria.
Marco Silva's agents are in London for talks with Saudi officials and the offer is being presented through the sovereign wealth fund. The Portuguese has a £6m release clause which Al Ahly are ready to pay.
Fulham presented Silva with a new contract earlier this summer but as things stand he would find it difficult to agree to the offer with one year remaining on his current deal.
Silva has already turned down a £35m offer from Al Hilal earlier this summer.
The Premier League club's problems do not stop there though with Mitrovic telling relatives he will not play for Fulham again after the decision-makers slapped a £52m price tag on the striker.
Mitrovic, who was considering staying away from the club tour of America, was convinced by agent Pini Zahavi and PFA representatives to join the squad as they depart for the United States on Thursday.
However, it is understood Mitrovic is angry at being priced out of a move having been the subject of two failed bids from Al Hilal.
Mitrovic's agent has urged Tony Khan to lower his value to somewhere between £35m and £45m.
It gives Silva an issue on tour with an unhappy striker in his squad, as doubts now emerge over Mitrovic's willingness to play in the opening game of the Premier League season at Everton on August 12.
Fulham did not comment when contacted by Sky Sports News.
Serbia international Mitrovic scored 14 league goals last season to help Fulham finish in the top half of the Premier League.
Mitrovic's goals also played a key role in helping the west London club to return to the top flight from the Championship on two occasions.
The forward joined Fulham, initially on loan in February 2018, before signing permanently for around £25m later that year.
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