Fulham must raid London rivals Chelsea to sign this this out-of-favour star

Fulham should not hesitate to sign Chelsea star Lucas Piazon

After tasting commendable success in the Championship, Fulham secured promotion to the Premier League. As a result, Slavisa Jokanovic resorted to extensive transfer activities to upgrade his squad ahead of the season.

The Cottagers made headlines in the summer with mega-money deals for Aleksandar Mitrovic (loan deal made permanent), Jean Michael Seri and Andre Schurrle (two-year loan deal from Borussia Dortmund).

Although the club bagged big scalps in the transfer market, they haven’t had much to cheer about so far. While they have shown flashes of promise, Fulham haven’t managed to keep pace with the Premier League teams. In fact, the Cottagers currently sit 17th in the standings with 5 points from 8 games, just a shade above the relegation zone.

It is definitely disheartening to see a strong team struggling the way Fulham have. The 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Arsenal before the international break won’t do any good to their confidence either. Actually, the humiliation against Arsenal provided ominous signs that they might not be able to avoid the drop this season.

Fulham have shipped goals at an alarming rate, having already conceded 21 goals so far with a goal difference of -12. This could return to haunt them if the relegation battle goes down to the wire. Quite clearly, the defenders haven’t adapted their game to suit the demands of the Premier League and going by the defensive record, Jokanovic should consider signing a quality centre-back in January.

Even though Fulham have looked impressive in the final third, they should not hesitate to add more attackers to achieve a better scoring record. And they can certainly do that by adding Chelsea’s out-of-favour star Lucas Piazon to the squad.

When Chelsea signed Piazon back in 2011 as a 17-year-old, few would have argued against him becoming one of the hottest young properties in the Premier League. However, it has been eight years since he made his move from Sao Paulo.

His appearances for the Blues have been limited to a couple of League Cup outings in the 2012/13 season and it has been a long time since he played for the club.

So much so, barring the fans, few would be familiar with the fact that he is still a part of the club. However, the most interesting fact is that Chelsea did not loan him out in the summer.

The Brazilian did spend a lot of time on loan just like his fellow academy youngsters, having had loan stints at Vitesse Arnhem, Eintracht Frankfurt, Reading and most recently Fulham, where he played for a couple of seasons and tasted reasonable success.

To put things into perspective, Fulham should look to sign the 24-year-old to add depth to their attacking options. Still only 24, the Brazilian is not a spent force by any means and regular first-team football will definitely bring the best out of him.

The Brazilian is a versatile attacker who is capable of playing as a left-winger and a playmaker. He often uses his flair and vision to influence the proceedings.

A good reader of the game in the final third, Piazon combines his technique, dribbling and presence of mind to link up the play effectively either down the flanks or through the centre. He is a tidy passer and moves the ball quickly in the final third.

To go with his passing, flair and game-reading abilities, he is also adept with his movement and tends to get into promising positions in the final third by making subtle runs behind the defenders.

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That said, it won’t be a bad idea for the Cottagers to buy him as he would be the perfect feeder for the likes of Mitrovic and Schurrle. Jokanovic should deploy him in a No.10 role as the team currently lack a creative midfielder. Hence, Piazon could be the perfect man to partner Tom Cairney and Jean Michael Seri in the midfield.