Fulham have made progress in their pursuit of Trabzonspor’s Chibuike Nwaiwu.
The centre-back joined the Turkish club from Wolfsberger AC for €6m in January and made 21 appearances.
He even managed three goals and an assist, and his performances have convinced Fulham.
On June 16th, Sport Witness covered claims from Turkey that Fulham are preparing to make an offer over €10m for Nwaiwu. The London club have also seen Trabzonspor reject their €10m bid for his teammate, Wagner Pina.
A week later, a source close to the 22-year-old said the London club have genuine interest.
West Ham United are also looking at the defender, who can operate as a defensive midfielder. The same source states the Süper Lig side will need an offer of €30-35m to sell him.
Fulham make advances
Foot Mercato now picks up on that and covers the latest on the Premier League side’s efforts to sign the Nigeria international.
Since the reports from last month emerged, Fulham have appointed Álvaro Arbeloa as Marco Silva’s successor.
The Spaniard’s arrival won’t change their plan to sign Chibuike Nwaiwu.
Arbeloa’s new side have reached an agreement with the player for a contract until 2030, without the report mentioning the salary details.
The English club are ‘getting closer’ to bringing him to London. It’s now down to them to find an agreement with Trabzonspor, and that won’t be easy.
Price could make signing difficult
Trabzonspor invested €6m on Chibuike Nwaiwu and now want at least five time that.
Although Fulham are ‘getting closer’, Foot Mercato makes no mention of whether they’re prepared to pay that.
The Premier League side spent €30m on Jean Michaël Seri in 2018. Since then, Fulham have only spent more on Oscar Bobb [31.2m], Emile Smith Rowe [€31.8m] and Kevin [€40m].
All three are attackers and it’s unclear whether Álvaro Arbeloa’s side will spend €30m on the defender.
