Fulham's Slavisa Jokanovic calls for more signings with transfer business 'definitely not done' yet

Getty Images
James Benge4 August 2018

Slavisa Jokanovic has warned his Fulham squad will require significant additions before the transfer window closes on Thursday if they are to be competitive in the Premier League.

The Cottagers have spent over £80million this summer and added six high-profile additions including Jean-Michael Seri (a year after he seemed destined to join Barcelona), Andre Schurrle and Aleksandar Mitrovic, who made his loan move permanent in a £20m switch.

However Jokanovic hinted he could need as many five more recruits, with particular focus needed on a defence that struggled to deal with the aerial threat of Celta Vigo in a 2-2 friendly draw at Craven Cottage.

The Serb also warned that anchorman Kevin McDonald and No.9 Mitrovic will need support.

Getty Images

“Our business is definitely not done,” Jokanovic warned. “I’m not the first who complains about transfer business... I’m not complaining. We need some additions. We need backups in some positions.

“I lost a complete defensive line from last season: Ryan Fredericks [free transfer to West Ham], Tomas Kalas [returned to Chelsea after loan], Denis Odoi is suspended, Matt Targett is not here.

"Only Tim Ream is in the squad. [Maxime] Le Marchand has come from Nice, he’s definitely part of the team but we need to try to strengthen in the next few days ahead of us.”

Few could argue against Jokanovic’s assessment following a draw where Fulham were as easy on the eye as ever going forward but cavalier in defence, with Celta spurning several chances on their way to a draw.

The £20m arrival of Alfie Mawson should ease Fulham’s difficulties under the high ball, but a knee operation that ruled him out of the World Cup will also sideline him for his new side’s first three games.

A left-back is next on the list, but progress in bringing Targett in on a permanent basis after his half-season loan from Southampton has been slow.

Should that transfer not go through with enough time for the 22-year-old to settle in at Craven Cottage, Jokanovic could be forced to once more bring Ryan Sessegnon back from his marauding role on the left wing to a spot in the back four.

Jokanovic told Standard Sport: “I mentioned many players in the defensive line, I bring [in] only one.

“You have the opportunity to check the game, you’ll have some kind of opinion about the squad. This is the situation. We have time ahead of us, but we must be fast.”

Is he confident enough reinforcements will arrive? “I’m confident we’re going to be working hard. I’m confident this team is working hard.

Getty Images

“These players need more help. That’s simple. My defensive line is not complete. The club know and they’re ready to make movement.

“I don’t have a player who can play in McDonald’s position. After Mitrovic? That player doesn’t exist. We can improvise - it wouldn’t be the first time for me - but if you’re improvising in the Premier League the price can be expensive.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in