Fulham look to bring another Nigerian to Craven Cottage as they eye winger Philip Otele

ENGLISH Premier League side Fulham are hoping to sign Nigerian winger Philip Otele from  Swiss Super League club Basel before the close of the current transfer window for a fee of about €15m.

Otele, 26, is actually owned by UAE Pro League club Al Wahda but was sent to Basel on loan in January this year and has remained there, stating the current season with them. Primarily a left-sided winger, Otele finished the 2023/24 season as the joint Romanian Liga One top scorer with 18 goals, enabling CFR Cluj to come second in the league.

This good form sparked a flurry of interest from across Europe, with Brighton seeking to bring him to the English Premier League at one stage. Now, Fulham have added Otele to their list of options as manager Marco Silva looks to strengthen his options before the window shuts on August 31.

Otele  is said to be available for under €15m, prompting Fulham to send representatives to Switzerland yesterday to watch the player in a Champions league qualifier and they are now deciding whether to place a formal offer for him. Otele is also on the radar of Eintracht Frankfurt, with the German side considering whether to place an official bid.

Fulham are open to adding two attackers between now and the end of the window, even if Atalanta and Leeds United target Rodrigo Muniz stays. Otele would suit them just fine as he has been averaging a goal every 176 minutes during the early stages of the Swiss Super League season

If he goes to Fulham, Otele would link up with compatriots Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi, who are among the mainstays of the team at Craven Cottage. Of late, several players of Nigerian extraction have been making moves in the English Premier League with Ebere Eze joining Arsenal from Crystal Palace and Leeds signing the duo of Noah Okafor and Lukas Nmecha, with the later scoring the winning goal in their opening league game.