Bids-A-Plenty: Dembele and Etuhu Receiving Interest

Seems that Fulham have received a flurry of bids in the recent going.

First, reports say Steve Kean at Blackburn is attempting to nick Dickson Etuhu off Fulham to go along with his Danny Murphy signing earlier this window. With Murphy gone and no midfield replacement signed yet by Martin Jol, Etuhu is currently an important member of the defensive midfield at Craven Cottage, and I’d be surprised to see Jol let him go, at least until he brings someone in (which I fully expect him to). The 30 year old Etuhu made 22 appearances last season with Fulham (13 of them substitute appearances), and it remains to be seen what his role this season will be. Dickson has previously said he’s unhappy with his playing time, but every time he gets a bit disgruntled he seems to win some more time on the pitch.

Also, there’s been a row of Moussa Dembele bids. According to his agent Jan de Visser, “Real Madrid have contacted us and asked about Moussa Dembele’s availability. They are not the first big club to make enquiries about Moussa this summer, though.”  I tend not to trust a lot of things agents say, especially like this, because often they’re just trying to drive his price up or show their client is a hot commodity. It’s still newsworthy, however, on the slight chance it’s true.

Not only that, but Fulham also have reportedly turned down a bid from Manchester United for Dembele, apparently in the £7 million region, which to me is not enough.  If you recall, Fulham paid about £5 million for him, so they’ll definitely want to at least double that.