Fulham shouldn’t pay £15m for Sala to play second fiddle to talisman Mitrovic

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Claudio Ranieri has set his sights on a reunion with Nantes striker Emiliano Sala at Fulham but faces competition from London rivals Crystal Palace and West Ham United, according to the Daily Mirror.

The Argentine hitman worked with the new Whites manager last season with the Ligue 1 outfit, in a season that saw him find the back of the net 12 times.

He has started this season in even better form and is the third highest scorer in the French top flight, behind only superstars Kylian Mbappe and Neymar of unbeaten runaway league leaders Paris Saint Germain.

So it’s easy to see why Ranieri would want Sala and any side that is bottom of the Premier League at this stage of the season may find it natural to reach for a goalscorer in the winter window.

But the report claims that Sala would cost £15m, and while Fulham’s huge summer investment indicates they could match that asking price, there are other areas of the team in greater need of improvement.

Pragmatist that he is, Ranieri will want to bring in some new recruits to tighten up Fulham’s defence, which has even let in four goals in the two games he has been in charge for.

Aleksandar Mitrović is the main man up front for the Cottagers and has shown he can score goals in the top flight; Sala would be an expensive backup or a risky purchase, if he knocks the confident Serbian off his stride.