• Fulham are close to signing Manor Solomon from Shakhtar Donetsk

  • Solomon has previously caught the eye with his performances in the Champions League

  • Will the Israeli starlet be a success in the Premier League?


Once again returning to the Premier League, Fulham are set to make a big splash with the signing of Manor Solomon.

The west London club were transfer betting favourites to land the Israeli winger a few weeks ago, but a report from Fabrizio Romano claimed the deal was on the ‘verge of collapse’.

The Athletic have since reported that the transfer is back on. On June 12th, Adam Crafton and Peter Rutzler wrote that Solomon is ‘close to joining’ Fulham.

The reporting acknowledged that the negotiations had ‘hit an impasse’, and other clubs like Torino and Club Bruges had shown interest.

Solomon has apparently always favoured a move to Fulham, however, and it seems that a fee of around £6 million has been agreed. This will be Fulham’s first signing of the summer after a dominant campaign in the Championship.

In their life as a yoyo club, Fulham have made numerous marquee signings. Many have disappointed like Jean Seri to Kostas Mitroglou.

As stellar as they were in the second tier last term, it’s clear Marco Silva’s team needs an injection of Premier League-level talent. The three weakest teams were relegated last term, leaving an incredibly strong 20 battling it out in 2022-23.

Fulham, along with their fellow promoted sides in Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest, are online betting favourites to go down.

Solomon isn’t going to swing those odds on his own, but Fulham will be hoping this transfer is a step in the right direction. Having lost Fabio Carvalho to Liverpool, Solomon gives Silva another option in the final third.

This whole transfer window is going to be about finding the balance between adding talent and maintaining stability from the team which scored 106 Championship goals and earned promotion at a canter.

Impressing with Shakhtar

Prior to links with Fulham, Solomon had made a name for himself in the Champions League and with Israel.

He’s got 30 international caps to his name, and scored against Real Madrid and Manchester City in the Champions League in 2020 and 2019 respectively. Arsenal were rumoured to be after Solomon back in 2021, too.

Before the season was ended due to Russia’s invasion, Solomon scored four times in 16 appearances in the Ukrainian Premier League. Shakhtar has been a developmental club for several players who have impressed in Europe’s top leagues.

Fernandinho and Willian starred in Premier League predictions with Manchester City and Chelsea. Henrikh Mkhitaryan was exceptional for Borussia Dortmund.

Fred earned a big-money move to Manchester United, while Douglas Costa and Andriy Yarmolenko have also shone since departing Ukraine.

Other moves have not worked out quite as well, of course, but there is a solid track record of players leaving Shakhtar and stepping up against a higher level of competition.

It is a minute sample, yet Solomon’s Champions League experience and performances will provide Fulham fans with a degree of confidence that he can cope with the standards of the Premier League.

What Fulham Can Expect

At times compared to Eden Hazard and with the versatility to play on either flank or centrally behind the striker, Solomon has long been touted as one of the most promising attackers in world football.

Involved in various youth age groups for Israel and named in UEFA’s ones to watch in 2018-19, this transfer has been a long time coming.

Silva will no doubt experiment with Solomon, but his favoured position is from the left where he can cut inside and look to shoot or pick out a teammate.

Supreme close control is his greatest strength at the moment; he’s capable of twisting fullbacks inside and out.

Like many young attacking players, there are times when his decision-making lets him down, but that will likely improve as he gets more experience. 

His exploits in the Champions League showed how he can be effective even against the world’s best teams.

After serenely winning the Championship, amassing goals at a remarkable rate, Fulham are in for a different challenge in 2022-23.

Solomon has the game to be a real threat on the break, and could develop an entertaining partnership with Aleksandar Mitrović.

The goals and assists aren’t always there for Solomon, but don’t be surprised if he’s a popular differential pick when it comes to team selection in August.

Solomon has several seasons of experience at club level and has been integral for the Israeli national team even at just 22 years of age.

There are no guarantees with a transfer of this nature, though it has the potential be an absolute bargain at just £6 million.

The club, and its fans, may need to exercise patience, but this looks a very shrewd signing from Fulham as they aim to consolidate as a Premier League outfit once again.

Fulham Transfer Targets

Gaining promotion to the best league in Europe brings incomparable riches. Fulham must use that wealth to revamp their squad.

According to Sky Sports, the club are open to reinforcements at all positions. Mitrovic needs support in attack, and there’s a vacancy in midfield after Seri’s departure.

They splashed the cash in 2018, and it failed. They were more circumspect two years later, and the result was the same.

Alfie Mawson and Michael Hector have followed Seri out the door, leaving the club in need of additions in defence.

Solomon will be the first of many arrivals this summer – they have already been linked with Almoatasembellah Al Musrati and Ko Itakura.

Jonjo Shelvey, Nemanja Matic, Ryan Fredricks, Nick Pope, and Joe Gomez are just a few of the Premier League names mooted as Fulham targets.

Lazio’s Thomas Strakosha is in talk with the club according to reports from Gianluca Di Marzio.


*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

 

FIRST PUBLISHED: 15th June 2022

Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.