Fulham Snap Up Spanish Custodian For £5m: A Smart Move By Jokanovic?

Fulham have completed the signing of Besiktas goalkeeper Fabri. The Spaniard has joined the newly-promoted Premier League outfit on a three-year contract for a reported fee of £5 million.

Fabri becomes only the third player to have joined Fulham this summer alongside two Ligue 1 stars in Maxime Le Marchand and Jean-Michael Seri. The 30-year-old earlier told reporters in Turkey that he had agreed personal terms with the English outfit and is delighted to have finally completed the move, stating: “I’m happy to have the opportunity to be in the Premier League”.

One of the main reasons behind his arrival in the English top flight is the fact that the Spaniard has a strong and healthy relationship with Fulham’s goalkeeping coach Jose Sambade Carreira. The pair worked together during their time at Deportivo La Coruna with Carreira, in particular, excited with the reunion.

Interestingly, this will be Fabri’s first transfer which involves money as all of his other moves were free transfers, the latest of which happened when he made the switch from Deportivo to Besiktas. Since arriving at Turkey in the summer of 2016, the 30-year-old quickly established himself as a first-team regular with the Black Eagles.

Fabri made a total of 87 appearances during his two-year stint with Besiktas, helping the Turkish giants secure the Super Lig title in 2017.

Fulham, on the other hand, will be hugely boosted by this addition given the fact that they had only one reliable goalkeeper prior to this move. Their initial backup keeper David Button joined Brighton & Hove Albion last week, which was probably the reason why Fulham pursued their interest in Fabri.

Although Marcus Bettinelli played most of Fulham’s games in the Championship last season, the English goalkeeper lacks experience in top-flight football, having yet to make any appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. Thus, Fabri’s addition to the club is definitely a smart move for the Cottagers.

As iterated earlier, the Spaniard has an ample amount of experience having played in a few different top-flight teams in Europe. With Besiktas, the 30-year-old also featured in 11 Champions League matches, helping the Turkish giants reach the Round of 16 this past season.

Meanwhile, it is believed that the Cottagers have the option to extend the contract of Fabio for a further 12 months although it remains to be seen if the former Deportivo keeper is yet ready to arguably face the biggest and perhaps the most important challenge of his career this season.