Fulham manager Marco Silva claps after the Sky Bet Championship match at Craven Cottage, London. Picture date: Saturday August 28, 2021.
Fulham: Whites update on Juan Miranda
The left-back has been praised by Lionel Messi.
A report has shared news on Fulham’s transfer plans and it involves Real Betis defender Juan Miranda, a player once praised by Lionel Messi.
Who will Fulham sign?
After sealing deals for both defender Calvin Bassey, who put pen to paper on an £18.2 million move from Ajax, and Mexico striker Raul Jimenez, there is still plenty of work to do at Craven Cottage.
Indeed, reliable media sources like transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano have claimed that Fulham are also pushing to sign Chelsea forward Callum Hudson-Odoi, with their west London rivals “clear” he can leave.
Meanwhile, there has also been talk of reignited interest in Man United midfielder Fred, coming after claims earlier in the transfer window that he is willing to join Marco Silva’s side.
This will be pleasing for Silva, as the Fulham manager has publicly admitted that he is far from satisfied with the club’s progress this summer.
“Unfortunately, we need many still. We have some important players injured,” he said.
“I hope they can come sooner. We have just two full backs, we need a midfielder too and we have just two wingers so we need another two wingers
We have completed our central defenders. I needed these players 15 days or 20 days ago, not now.”
Fulham, after Silva admitted they have a real full-back shortage, have reportedly joined the race for AS Monaco full-back Ismail Jakobs – who featured for Senegal at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
It appears new full-backs are firmly on the agenda, with a report sharing news on Miranda of Real Betis.
The 23-year-old has under 12 months left on his contract, and Fulham are hoping to strike a “cut price” move for Miranda as a result.
He has apparently caught the eye of Silva, who has made the signing of a new left-back one of his top priorities before deadline day. That is according to TEAMtalk, who also say Silva is eager to add competition for Antonee Robinson on that left side.
How good is Juan Miranda?
The Spaniard made 21 appearances under Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini last season, ranking among their best-performers per 90 by average match rating in La Liga (WhoScored).
Miranda also featured among their best regulars for clearances made per 90, indicating he can be relied upon defensively.
Meanwhile, the young defender also ranked joint-third out of Real Betis’ regular starters for key passes made going forward (WhoScored).
Miranda could be seen as a real asset both at the back and in more advanced areas, with footballing icon Messi once praising him as ones to watch out La Masia’s famed Barca academy.
“They [Miranda and Rique Puig] have been training with us for a whole and you see they are different players,” said Messi five years ago.
“The club did well in bringing them up to train with us. They will grow more and that’s good the club are using people from the youth academy because for a while nobody came.
“Going back to that model is important for the academy and the club.”
