Fulham are looking for a new striker ahead of the January transfer window with KRC Genk hitman Tolu Arokodare in contention for a mid-season move to the Premier League outfit.
- Exclusive from Graeme Bailey
Cottagers boss Marco Silva continues to maximise the talent at his disposal in West London, with both Raul Jimenez and Rodrigo Muniz finding form under the Portuguese tactician.
Muniz, a revelation last season, opened his account for the current campaign with a well-taken touch and finish as Fulham ran Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City close at the Etihad last weekend.
Veternan Jimenez, meanwhile, has three goals in four Premier League starts. The Mexico international, who assisted Andreas Pereira’s opener against the champions with a wonderful backheel, is playing arguably his best football for around five years.
But TBR understands that Fulham are still looking to add another number nine to their ranks. And Genk ace Tolu Arokodare is one name under consideration.
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Fulham are looking at Genk striker Tolu Arokodare
A 6ft 6ins giant of a striker, Arokodare moved to Belgium back in 2023 after a spell in Germany with Koln and a brief stint in France with Amiens.
After scoring 15 goals in his debut season at Genk, Arokodare has six in ten appearances so far this term.
Fulham have been looking far and wide for attacking reinforcements and Arokodare is one name who has caught their attention, with coach Marco Silva hoping to add some extra firepower to his ranks.
“Believe me, there is no better striker in Belgium than Tolu,” Genk coach Thorsten Fink told reporters back in August when Turkish giants Trabzonspor were linked. “I really hope we can convince him to stay.
“You won’t find a striker with his qualities for under ten million.”
According to Brilla, a publication in his native Nigeria, Genk were looking for around £7 million in the summer. Due to Arokodare’s flying start to the new campaign, and with at least one Premier League club now on his trail, it would come as little surprise if Genk were to raise his value considerably.
“If you score two goals in such a short time, you are of course a fantastic substitute,” Royal Antwerp icon Patrick Goots told Het Belang van Limburg after Arokodare came off the bench to score a quickfire brace against the 2023 Belgium champions last term.
“I immediately noticed that he came onto the field with a lot of aggression and intensity. With someone like him, you have a super strong weapon as a team. He is big, good at heading, reasonably fast and can score a goal.
“In fact, he has all the qualities a striker should have.”
Marco Silva full of praise for Rodrigo Muniz revival at Fulham
Arokodare, should he join The Cottagers in the new year, would be hard pushed securing a place in Marco Silva’s starting XI. Muniz was outstanding in the second half of 2023/24 and even he is warming the bench these days with Jimenez currently in the role of starter.
“It’s not just the goals,” Silva said after Muniz put a miserable loan spell at Middlesbrough behind him to become an unexpected success story in the capital. “The way he’s been improving and the hard work that he’s putting in every single week from the beginning of the season…
“It’s paying off right now.
“It’s a great feeling for me as a manager, because I pushed the football club to buy him two, three years ago when I first joined the club. Myself and my staff saw something in him. I felt he was the right player to join our football club.”
Fulham fans will be hoping that intuition succeeds again with Arokodare now on the radar.
TBR can also confirm that Marco Silva is hoping to tie down Fulham winger Adama Traore to a new contract.