Fulham abandoned £15m deal to sign player from Southampton, now he's in UEFA Champions League Team of the Week
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Fulham deserve credit for a fine summer of recruitment during the transfer window just gone.
The Cottagers made several wise moves, bringing a top talent in Emile Smith Rowe to Craven Cottage, while also luring Joachim Andersen back to west London as the two headline arrivals.
Marco Silva has Fulham sitting comfortably in sixth place after a fine start to the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, with the summer arrivals settling in quickly.
| Position | Team | PlayedMP | WonW | DrawnD | LostL | ForGF | AgainstGA | DiffGD | PointsPts |
| 6 | FulhamFulham | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
However, there was a deal involving Southampton that Fulham abandoned back in August 2023 – which now looks like a big mistake.
Fulham will kick themselves after walking away from £15m Mohammed Salisu deal
A story from The Athletic from back in August 2023 states that Fulham had a £15m deal lined up to sign Mohammed Salisu from Southampton, but decided to sign Calvin Bassey instead.
The Ghana international was looking for an immediate return to top-flight football after the Saints were relegated, but eventually sealed a £17m move to Monaco after the Cottagers rejected him.
Now, Salisu is shining for the French giants, and has just made the UEFA Champions League Team of the Week on matchday two after scoring in Monaco’s 2-2 draw against Dinamo Zagreb, making it 2-1 in the 74th minute to ignite a comeback.
As SofaScore shows, the Monaco No.22 made four interceptions, three clearances and six successful long range passes to go with his crucial goal.
Had Fulham proceeded with the £15m deal to sign Salisu, it could have saved millions over the summer, as a sum double that amount was needed to sign Andersen from Crystal Palace, a player who is also three years older than the Ghanaian.
Southampton will be gutted by Salisu development
Putting Fulham aside for a moment, Southampton will also surely feel upset to see Salisu – who West Ham wanted in 2023 – thriving in the UEFA Champions League of all stages.
Had the Saints not embarked on a truly chaotic 2022/23 campaign, in which Ralph Hasenhuttl, Ruben Selles and Nathan Jones all managed the side at various times, relegation could have been avoided, keeping Salisu at the St Mary’s Stadium.
Unfortunately, the man from Kumasi had to be sold, and Southampton can only watch on as he shines for Monaco.
