Fulham target 'not surprised' by teammate's £17m Chelsea switch, striker could join him in London

After Chelsea tied up a £17 million deal for one of the league’s rising stars, a player who knows the Stamford Bridge newbie well could soon be joining him in West London.

TBR understands that Fulham boss Marco Silva is keen to add some extra firepower to his team.

And, with January planning already underway, Fulham are looking into a potential deal for Tolu Arokodare. A 6ft 6ins giant of a centre-forward, Arokodare has six goals from ten appearances this season. With Rodrigo Muniz yet to really fire this term and Raul Jimenez now 33, a deal for the surely soon-to-be capped Nigerian makes sense.

KRC Genk, meanwhile, have already lost one of their star performers to the lure of English football.

Premier League giants Chelsea snapped up young goalkeeper Mike Penders in a £17 million deal over the summer.

And while that was a transfer which took many by surprise – Belgium legend Franky van der Elst called it a ‘shocking’ and ‘unprecedented’ development in conversation with Het Nieuwsblad – Arokodare and the rest of Penders’ Genk teammates were hardly taken aback.

Genk teammates not surprised by Mike Penders Chelsea switch

Yes, Penders agreed to join Chelsea for a cool 20 million euros only a month after making his senior debut in July.

But the 19-year-old shot-stopper, who is staying at Genk on loan until moving to Stamford Bridge next summer, had earned himself the admiration of everyone at the Cegeka Arena long before he came to the attention of a wider audience.

“He is a good person, a good professional, and he is very hardworking,” Arokodare tells Tribal Football. “We should expect the best from him.

“I must admit that it is difficult to score against him in training and we do our best to help one another improve. We should expect nothing but the best from him.

“And talking about our reaction when Chelsea signed him… Well, we were not really surprised because we know the qualities he possesses.”

Fulham target Tolu Arokodare could join Penders in London

Chelsea are keeping very close tabs on Penders’ performances over in his native Belgium. A first-team role under Enzo Maresca cannot be ruled out in the near future either. Not as Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper Robert Sanchez proves to be less than convincing between the sticks at present.

As for Arokodare, already more than a third of the way to matching last season’s goal tally, he could soon find himself sharing a postcode with Penders in West London.

The Fulham target was asked, meanwhile, if he had ever considered that he himself might have caught Chelsea’s eye during those scouting trips.

“I never really thought about that. I don’t know how to answer that,” 23-year-old Arokodare muses. “If Chelsea scouts were watching [me], I don’t know.

“I just play my football. Whatever comes, comes. When it’ is time for me to move, I move. Right now, I am just focused on the game and I am doing my job.

“I love scoring goals.”

TBR understands that a striker currently on Chelsea’s radar is Igor Jesus.

Playing for Botafogo, Igor Jesus has caught the eye of Arsenal, Newcastle United and Brighton too while he scored on his Brazil debut this week.