Premier League newcomers Fulham are stepping up their pursuit of £13 million Roma forward Justin Kluivert with Jose Mourinho keen to sell the Serie A misfit, as reported by Tuttomercatoweb.
With Marco Silva already concerned about the size of Fulham’s squad heading into the new campaign, the last thing he needed was to see Harry Wilson limp out of the recent behind-closed-doors friendly with Aston Villa after picking up a potentially serious knee injury.
“We’re waiting on the medical staff but it doesn’t look good,” Silva sighs, bemoaning the loss of his most creative outlet ahead of this weekend’s oh-so daunting curtain-raiser against Liverpool.
Now, Fulham’s interest in Kluivert appears to be independent of Wilson’s sudden absence. The Cottagers were linked with the Dutch international before their £12 million assist-machine was consigned to the treatment table after all.
But it certainly doesn’t feel coincidental that, after reports of Wilson’s most ill-timed of injuries emerged, Fulham appear to have slammed their foot onto the accelerator, revving up their pursuit of a former Ajax youngster who beat Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho, Gianluigi Donnarumma and co to Goal.com’s Nxt Gen award back in 2018.
Fulham step up chase for Roma’s Justin Kluivert
According to Tuttomercatoweb, Kluivert is no longer part of Jose Mourinho’s plans at the Stadio Olimpico. After hit-and-miss loan spells at Nice and RB Leipzig, the 23-year-old winger is training away from the rest of the Roma squad. He’s also been omitted from their pre-season plans.
The son of legendary striker Patrick Kluivert, Justin’s reputation has taken a beating during a frustrating spell in Italy. But the fleet-footed wideman only turned 23 in May.
A footballer dubbed one of Europe’s most exciting teenagers a couple of seasons ago – after exploding onto the scene with Ajax – still has plenty of time on his side, and rich reserves of potential just waiting to be tapped into.
“I look up to Cristiano Ronaldo,” Kluivert told FourFourTwo a couple of years ago. “Not just because of his qualities, which are obvious. But also the way he lives and eats and how hard he trains. He is really an example for me.
“Barcelona is my dream club. Within seven years, I would like to be at Barcelona. Before that I would like to play in England as well. I really like that competition (the Premier League).”
Kluivert is reportedly available for a cut-price £13 million.
