Yesterday, it was revealed that Leicester City are one of the sides showing an interest in Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney.
Daily Mail reporter Tom Collomosse revealed that Leicester City are keen on Cairney, 32, ahead of the summer transfer window.
The long-standing Fulham favourite featured 32 times in the Premier League last season, scoring twice with both goals coming in the Cottagers’ 5-3 win over Leicester City last month.
He’s in the final year of his contract but Fulham have the option to extend his stay by a further year, effectively meaning that Cairney is under contract at Craven Cottage for another two years.
Price tag?
This isn’t the first time that Cairney has had interest, but it is the first time in a long time. Newcastle United had a £20million bid for Cairney knocked back in the summer of 2017 and a year later, West Ham had a £20million offer knocked back too, with Fulham said have been holding out for £30million at the time.
Cairney was in the prime of his career then. He was scoring and creating goals for Fulham and whilst he remains an important player, the task of creativity in the Fulham ranks has been passed on to others.
It’s difficult to see Cairney fetching half that amount now. Leicester City may have money to spend this summer if they can sell James Maddison or Harvey Barnes sooner rather than later, but spending an eight-figure amount on Cairney seems unlikely, and unnecessary.
A seven-figure fee seems more reasonable, but it’s a difficult one to predict.
Fulham’s stance?
Fulham finished in 10th place of the Premier League table last season. They’re making huge strides under Marco Silva and they look set to bring in some new talent this summer, which could push Cairney down the pecking order despite him playing a lot of football last season.
And given his contract situation, Cairney could be one of the names on the chopping block this summer. Leicester and any other interested side may have to put an offer on the table to find out whether or not Cairney is up for sale this summer, and indeed how much Fulham want for him.
But he’d be a great signing for the Foxes if they could pull it off, with the club in store for a tough 2023/24 Championship campaign.
