by After Chelsea completed a £17million deal for one of the league’s rising stars, a player who knows the Stamford Bridge newcomer well could soon join him in west London.
TBR understands that Fulham manager Marco Silva is keen to add some more firepower to his team.
And with January planning already underway, Fulham are exploring a possible deal for Tolu Arokodare. Arokodare, a 1.80 meter tall centre-forward, has scored six goals in ten appearances this season. Since Rodrigo Muniz hasn’t really been released this season and Raul Jimenez is now 33 years old, a deal for the Nigerian, who will certainly be eligible for international play soon, makes sense.
KRC Genk, meanwhile, has already lost one of its star players to the lure of English football.
Premier League giants Chelsea secured young goalkeeper Mike Penders in a £17million deal in the summer.
And while this was a transfer that surprised many – Belgian legend Franky van der Elst, speaking to Het Nieuwsblad, called it a “shocking” and “unprecedented” development – Arokodare and the rest of Pender’s Genk teammates were hardly surprised.
Genk teammates are not surprised by Mike Pender’s Chelsea move
Yes, Penders agreed to join Chelsea for a whopping €20 million just a month after making his senior debut in July.
But the 19-year-old goalkeeper, who remains on loan at Genk until his move to Stamford Bridge next summer, had earned the admiration of everyone at the Cegeka Arena long before he became known to a wider audience.
“He is a good person, a good professional and he is very hardworking,” Arokodare told Tribal Football. “We should expect the best from him.
“I have to admit that it is difficult to score against him in training and we are doing our best to help each other improve. We should expect nothing but the best from him.
“And if we talk about our reaction when Chelsea signed him… Well, we weren’t really surprised because we know what qualities he possesses.”
Fulham target Tolu Arokodare could join Penders in London
Chelsea are keeping a close eye on Penders’ performances in his home country of Belgium. A stint in the professional team under Enzo Maresca cannot be ruled out in the near future. Not because Chelsea’s regular goalkeeper Robert Sanchez is currently proving unconvincing between the posts.
As for Arokodare, who has already achieved more than a third of his targets from last season, he could soon share a postcode with Penders in west London.
The Fulham target, meanwhile, was asked if he ever thought that he himself might have attracted Chelsea’s attention during those scouting trips.
“I never really thought about it. I don’t know how to answer that,” muses 23-year-old Arokodare. “If Chelsea scouts were watching [me]I don’t know.
“I just play my football. Whatever comes, comes. When it’s time for me to move, I move. At the moment I’m just concentrating on the game and doing my job.
“I love scoring goals.”
TBR understands that Igor Jesus is a striker who is currently on Chelsea’s radar.
Igor Jesus, who plays for Botafogo, also caught the attention of Arsenal, Newcastle United and Brighton when he scored on his Brazil debut this week.
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