Fulham eye giant £7m striker as Marco Silva targets another number nine in January

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 Rodr꧅igo Muniz fi🤪nding 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 clos🔥eꦓ at the Etihad last weekend.

Veternan Jimen♎ez, 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. A𒀰🧸nd Genk ace Tolu Arokodare is one name under consideration.

Fulham are looking at Genk striker Tolu Arokodare

A 6ft 6ins giant of a striker, Arokodare moved to Belgium back in 20🉐23 after a spell in Germany with Koln and a brief stint in Fra🌳nce 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 bett🍃er striker in Belgium than Tolu,” Genk coach Thorsten Fink told reporters back in Augu✤st 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 un꧒der ten million.”

According to , 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 L💙eague 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 sucཧh a short time, you are of course a fanꦇtastic substitute,” Royal Antwerp icon Patrick Goots told 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 an💙d can score a goal.

“In fact, he has all the ༒qualities a striker sh♏ould 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 Jimene꧂z currently ജin 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 iꦛn 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 hiꦅm 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 th🙈at intuition succeeds again with Arokodare now on t🍸he radar.

TBR can also confirm that Marco Silva is hoping to tie down Fulham winger Aಌdama Traore to a new contract.