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Why Fulham should consider terminating Luciano Vietto’s loan deal
In recent weeks, Fulham fans have been largely focused on the loan rumours surrounding the termination of Manchester United defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah.
Yet along with the underwhelming right-back, the Whites should consider ending Luciano Vietto’s loan deal, following his dreadful performance against Oldham and his lack of opportunities under Claudio Ranieri.
Vietto arrived at Craven Cottage from Atletico Madrid on deadline day this summer, after amassing a decent scoring record during spells at various La Liga clubs.
Early on in the season, the Argentine broke into the starting lineup under Slavisa Jokanovic, providing crucial assists against Burnley and Watford in the fall.
But the attacker, who has mainly been used on the wing despite his best position being centre-forward, quickly fell out of favour once Ranieri was appointed manager.
Since November, Vietto has played a role in just three league matches under the Italian, including two disappointing performances against Leicester and Manchester United.
Vietto’s brightest Ranieri display came against Huddersfield, where the loanee was excellent in the second half, providing dangerous movement, penetrating passes, and mazy dribbling as the Whites broke down the Terriers.
However, that side of Vietto has been evident far too rarely during his spell in SW6. For the majority of his time on the pitch, the attacker has been peripheral, pushed off the ball far too easily, and unable to influence proceedings.
This side of Vietto’s play took centre stage on Sunday against Oldham, when the loanee from one of Spain’s best teams could barely trouble a League Two defence.
Vietto undoubtedly possesses useful qualities such as an eye for a pass and nice technical abilities, but his skill-set is simply not cut out for a relegation battle.
Too often he has drifted out of crucial matches, and as Luciano Vietto is still goalless for Fulham, the club may do well to terminate his loan in January and search for more battle-hardened frontmen.