Fulham And Bournemouth Make Enquiries For Teenage Defender As Bournemouth Won The Race To Sign The Wonderkid
Bournemouth and Fulham have made enquiries into the possibility of signing teenage AC Milan defender Jan-Carlo Simic.
The Rossoneri signed the young defender from the VfB Stuttgart academy in 2022 and he has made considerable progress in Italy.
Simic, 18, made his debut for the senior squad earlier in the season and has already made six appearances.
His performances have already piqued the interest of a few clubs with his limited appearances in the ongoing campaign.
According to Italian outlet Tutto Mercato, Bournemouth and Fulham have their eyes on the 18-year-old centre-back.
The two Premier League clubs have been keeping tabs on the young defender and have taken information on him.
They have probed into the possibility of getting their hands on Simic in the summer transfer window.
He has a year left on his contract and AC Milan are also looking to convince him to sign a new deal.
It has been claimed that he is likely to sign a new contract with the Rossoneri and then consider his future.
Last season Cherries were one of the worst sides in the Premier League at defending from dead-ball situations, Gary O’Neil’s side last season conceding 21 times from set-pieces.
After a shaky start to the campaign saw the trend continue, Cherries have managed to fix up at the back, with just 10 goals conceded at dead balls in 34 Premier League games this year.
And whilst Iraola commented that his side had improved in both boxes at free kicks and corners, the Basque boss feared jinxing his team by talking about it.
Asked about the improved record, Iraola told the Daily Echo: “You shouldn’t ask me this because now next game we will concede a set-piece goal!
“But it’s true that we have improved a lot from the beginning of the season, set pieces, offensively and defensively.
“I think our numbers have been really good, if you see the stats on both sides because we didn’t start the season well in that area.
“And we knew even from the beginning it was something that we had to improve.
“But I hope we can continue and finish it well.”
Bournemouth (45 points) sit 10th, on the right side of the top half, a point and a place above Brighton, on the wrong side. The difference between being a top-half team, and a bottom-half side. A month ago, it was unthinkable that the Seagulls could finish (or 12th or 13th, if they’re not careful), until they crashed out of Europe and are now without a win in their last five PL outings (0W-2D-3L), including a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City on Thursday, less than 72 hours ago. Oh, to feel as if you’re still in the Europa League.
