Fulham centre-back Maxime Le Marchand could be set to leave Craven Cottage this summer.
What’s the talk?
That’s according to a report by French publication Le Bien Public (via Get Football French News), who claim that FC Dijon have made an approach to Fulham regarding a deal for the 31-year-old defender.
The report goes on to mention the fact that the former OGC Nice player has one year remaining on his current deal with the west London side, while it has also been claimed that the Cottagers’ former manager, Scott Parker, deemed the Frenchman surplus to requirements at the club last season.
However, in an interview with GVA earlier this year, Le Marchand suggested he could remain with the Championship side in the new season, despite having been exiled last year.
Le Marchand must go
Considering how infrequently Le Marchand has featured for Fulham since Slavisa Jokanovic signed the 31-year-old in 2018, it would indeed appear a wise move for Marco Silva to cash in on the defender while the interest is there.
Indeed, over his three years in west London, the £1.35m-rated man has gone on to make a mere 48 appearances in all competitions for the club.
Last season, the centre-back made just two Premier League appearances for the Cottagers, over which he made an average of 0 interceptions, one tackle and 1.5 interceptions per game.
These returns saw the £24k-per-week defender earn an average SofaScore match rating of 6.75, ranking him as Parker’s 12th-worst player in the top flight of English football.
Indeed, it became clear that Parker was not a fan of the man Tony Khan dubbed a “valuable” asset, as the 40-year-old sent the player out on loan to Royal Antwerp for the second half of the club’s campaign.
And, with Le Marchand picking up a rather hefty weekly wage in comparison to his current standing in Fulham’s centre-back pecking order, it would appear wise for Silva to follow his predecessors lead over the Frenchman, and do everything in his power to move Jokanovic’s dud on ahead of next season.
In other news: Khan must axe Fulham’s “fabulous” £35k-p/w flop, he’s stealing a living
