In a couple of tweets on his timeline, Laurie Whitwell, Daily Mail football correspondent for the Midlands reveals two instances that are of interest to Fulham fans and Derby fans alike.
The first tweet, four hours ago linked Fulham with Derby County’s powerful striker Chris Martin, a player who knows his way around Championship defences and a striker with a keen eyes for goal.
#dcfc are discussing Chris Martin with Fulham and looking at bringing in Ikechi Anya. No confirmation on types of deals yet. More @MailSport
— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) August 31, 2016
The fact that the two clubs were in discussion over Martin should be enough to enthuse Fulham fans who will be looking for a regularly effective goal-scorer to replace the departed Ross McCormack and maintain their impressive start to the season that sees them sitting in second in the league table.
As Whitwell mentioned four hours ago (tweet – above), the only intangible that was left was the manner and structure of the deal under discussion. Just under 30 minutes ago, Whitwell provided the answer to that dilemma with the following tweet.
Told #dcfc Chris Martin to Fulham is £2.5m loan fee + option to buy in Jan. #wfc Ikechi Anya £3.5m permanent. Martin's iPro chances limited
— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) August 31, 2016
Whilst £2.5m seems to be a monstrosity of a fee, it is only a fraction of what a team would pay for a top-quality striker like Chris Martin on the open market. 27-year-old Scot Martin made 47 appearances for Derby last season, scoring 15 goals in total – with the striker having scored 55 times for Derby since his transfer from Norwich City in 2012.
