Fulham have now offered an intriguing swap deal to sell ‘excellent’ star £50,000 p/w

As the January transfer window approaches, Fulham they face a battle to keep hold of one of their key players but have now been offered an interesting proposition that could improve the squad in the long term.

Fulham transfer news

After a solid start to the Premier League season, Marco Silva’s Fulham appear to be running out of steam. They have won just one of their last six games in the top flight, losing once and drawing the other four. Most recently, they have been held to a goalless draw with bottom club Southampton, who Silva described as a “missed opportunity”.

“We should have won the game, definitely. We tried everything from the beginning. It’s impossible to finish a game with more attacking players in our team,” said the Portuguese coach after the game.

“Our forward line was never a threat for them. We had two or three clear chances, but we should have created more. We have to be more incisive and more clinical.”

One positive, however, came in the form of a debut for 17-year-old midfielder Josh King, who started the game but was replaced by Adama Traore midway through the second half. Now Londoners have been offered the chance to add to their next crop of young talent.

Andreas Pereira transfer update

Things could get tougher for Fulham after the New Year as they now face a challenge hold midfielder Andreas Pereira. Earlier this month, it was reported that the Brazilian club Palmeiras had made their first approach to sign Pereira.

The Cottagers consider the former Manchester United star, who currently earns £50,000-a-week at Craven Cottage, to be “untouchable” and are likely to shut down Palmeira’s attempt to sign him before he can progress. Silva has previously described Pereira as “outstanding” and a “superior professional”.

But now, Nosso Palestra claim Palmeiras have reached an initial agreement with Pereira over a move to Allianz Parque, with only Fulham left to convince. The publication claims that Fulham want around £25m, and to get close to that figure, Palmeiras are open to including players in the deal, including one of Vitor Reis or Richard Rios.

The club management considers that the two players are easily replaceable: Reis in the central role and Rios could be succeeded by Pereira himself.

Reis, in particular, looks like an exciting talent who could certainly ease the blow of losing Pereira: the 18-year-old defender has been watched by a number of top-flight clubs and has been hailed for his leadership and “an imposing, confident presence who is rare in such a young defender.”

Both Reis and Rios have also been linked with Paris Saint-Germain in recent months. In October, ESPN Brasil reported that PSG they were looking at the defender, while Antena 2 Sports reported in August that the Ligue 1 giants had made a £17m bid for Colombia international Rios.