It was always going to happen, and it took just a matter of days before Tom Cairney was linked with a move to Sheffield United and Slavisa Jokanovic.
FootballLeagueWorld were first to the table. They claimed that Cairney was keen to get out of Fulham, with Sheffield United his most likely destination.
Yesterday, TeamTalk then claimed that Fulham have slapped a £10m price tag on Cairney. That figure, coupled with his contract, wages, and the injury he’s had, means it’s unlikely United will move for him.
Of course, we might end up signing him and we could be proven wrong over the summer. But with a new manager in place in Jokanovic – who has a history of success at this level – players were bound to be linked.
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And to be honest, Cairney is unlikely to be the last name we see chucked the way of Jokanovic and a move to Bramall Lane this summer.
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A quick scoure online in the aftermath of Jokanovic’s appointment would have thrown you a few names up. Cairney was one. But the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic were also immediately mentioned.
The big Serbian striker was a key figure for Jokanovic at Fulham. But like Cairney, he will cost big money, and be on big wages. Spotrac claim he is on around £60k-a-week. There’s simply no way we’re paying that.
Other names the new Blades boss had at Fulham included Ryan Sessegnon – now at Spurs – and Sheyi Ojo. Obviously, Sessegnon would be quite the coup if we could get him on loan. But again, it seems unlikely, given he’s just returning to Spurs from Germany.
Ojo, meanwhile, has hardly ripped things up and is currently with Cardiff City. Stefan Johansen is another from the Fulham ranks who has been mentioned. The Norwegian has just completed a year with QPR, where he did well.
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Looking further back, Jokanovic had the likes of Adlene Guedioura and Matej Vydra at Watford. Interestingly, Guedioura followed Jokanovic to Al-Gharafa. But now 35, he is another unlikely.
Vydra, meanwhile, finished the season getting regular minutes for Burnley.
So, while these players are naturally going to be linked with United and Jokanovic, we have to be realistic. Most are out of our reach. And in fairness, it might be better to look beyond just those players he knows well.
It’s an exciting time to be a Blade again. Getting the recruitment will be spot on for the club. However, we’re likely to see more names mentioned in the coming weeks and months.
Who out of those we sign, is going to be the crucial aspect of the matter.
