One is in the bag. https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2026/august/03/fulham-sign-gonzalo/
I like this one. He and Muniz should push each other.
And two. https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2026/august/03/palacios-joins-fulham/
A bit on the fence on this one. We'll see.
Lukic appears to be following Diop to Leeds. I'm less upset about Lukic leaving than Diop, especially since it seems like there is a replacement in the works with Shea Charles from Southampton. Leeds was also interested in Charles, so the comparisons over next season will be inevitable if both moves happen. (EDIT - uhhh, not sure why i had Leeds on my brain, Diop and Lukic will play for Ipswich!)
I never thought Lukic did anything particularly bad or great, he was just kind of there. Last season he and Berge became a weird terrible combination so I'm fine with Fulham going with some other options in the midfield that might make a better pairing.
I agree with Micah. And 9 million pounds for him isn't bad (and for Lukic it's a no-brainer to sign a 4-year lucrative contract at 29). I also agree that the Berge/Lukic combination was terrible.
Berge doesn't have the toughness we need and Reed has lost a couple of steps, so I hope Charles is someone who can bring back some of that steel we've been missing all last season (don't know anything about him). Defensive mid was our Achilles heel last season and is still an area we haven't addressed. Instead, we've been adding to the glut of creative players we already have.
Did anyone watch the preseason game with Palace? Was the play better than the result?
@Daddude7 I only saw the highlights from Fulham and Palace. From what I saw Fulham do look more decisive going forward and are looking for opportunities quicker. Fulham put shots on target, which is good since sometimes even that was lacking last season. Garcia and Palacios seem to have brought personal chemistry with them. It was only shown in the Palace highlights, but Fulham's high press forced a turnover in the box that Palacios smashed off the crossbar at the end of the first half. Fulham's highlights also didn't include a ridiculous bicycle kick from Muniz that missed the target - his signature move these days.
On the concerning side of things, the opening goal another from a corner. I think Fulham might have given up a goal from a corner in each pre-season match so far. Certainly more often than we'd like. The write up from Fulham said the second goal came after a deflection, but it seemed like poor goal keeping from Lecomte. There were also some defensive errors that hopefully happen less frequently before the start of the season.
The Ful Access video appears to show them running sprints after the match. That was always the worst when I played.
https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2026/august/08/ful-access--first-minutes-for-c-sar-and-gonzalo/
It also shows the lead up to Palacios hitting the bar (and you hear it hit but don’t see it)
Side note: I saw Charles was an unused sub in Southampton’s EFL Cup match today.
Looks like we're getting Charles pending the medical: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/ce3qgzv43d3o.
I don't know enough about him to have an opinion, but 30 million is a good chunk, so I hope he's worth it. If he can step in and improve upon Berge/Lukic, it will be a steal.
I don't remember the last time we have had a few quality additions a few weeks before the start of the season, so it bodes well for the chemistry of the new players with the rest of the team. On the other hand, we've spent quite a lot by our standards, so I don't expect any more additions, unless the Khans find a deal on the deadline day or if they get an offer they can't refuse for Jedi from Liverpool or Manu and we need to replace him.
It is good to see new guys coming in with a few weeks to spare because Fulham will have to hit the ground running against Chelsea. I have no idea about the quality of these players, and 30 mill does seem like a lot for a guy coming from the Championship, but at least this gives the squad a better chance of starting off well.
I wonder if Fulham is looking at de Fougerolles as being the replacement for Diop since there hasn't been any movement there. That is the area of biggest concern for me if Charles comes through.