Fulham right-back Ryan Fredericks is close to joining West Ham after his agent held talks today with co-owner David Sullivan, according to Claret and Hugh.
The Hammers blog claim the Premier League club have not yet formalised terms with Fredericks but are set to beat rivals Southampton and Crystal Palace in the race for his signature as they look to make him new manager Manuel Pellegrini’s first signing.
Claret and Hugh report the right-back, 25, is set to be confirmed as a West Ham player within the next 24 hours after his representative conducted “very positive” discussions with Sullivan on Monday morning.
OPINION
It appears to be only a matter of dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s before Fredericks is confirmed as the first signing of the Pellegrini era. Given the huge strides made by the Tottenham academy product in the last few years, it would represent a real coup for the Hammers to finally get him on board. With his searing pace, mobility and crossing ability, Fredericks is effectively two players in one on the right flank and has been compared to Kyle Walker. Those who have watched him regularly believe he is more like a souped-up version of Kieran Tripper. Like the two internationals, Fredericks is at his most effective flying forward up the flank and supporting attacks, and his nine assists in 47 matches in the recently-completed Championship season were integral to Fulham’s promotion. It is a measure of his pedigree that he was named in the division’s team of the season for 2017-18 alongside teammates Ryan Sessegnon and Tom Cairney. All should thrive in the English top flight once they have got their feet under the table.
