Fulham agree €50m deals for Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios from Real Madrid | OneFootball

Fulham have agreed deals to sign Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios from Real Madrid for a combined €50m. Garcia is valued at €40m and Palacios at €10m, with 30 per cent sell-on clauses for both.

If all goes to plan, the pair would follow head coach Alvaro Arbeloa to Craven Cottage. According to NY Times, both players are keen to play in the Premier League under Arbeloa after working with him in Madrid’s youth set-up.

Fulham have lost two major attacking options this summer after contract expiries. Last season’s top scorer Harry Wilson has joined Leeds United, and Raul Jimenez has re-signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Garcia and Palacios are set to be the first new arrivals of the window, with Swedish forward Jonah Kusi-Asare making his Bayern Munich loan permanent after last season’s spell at Craven Cottage.

Garcia, 22, broke into Madrid’s first team from the academy and attracted interest across Europe this year. He made 39 appearances, mostly as a substitute, scoring eight, including a hat-trick against Real Betis in January. He also took the Club World Cup Golden Boot with four goals last summer.

Palacios, 21, featured seven times for the first team last season, five of those in La Liga, after his January debut.

Madrid Castilla’s failure to gain promotion to the second tier last season was expected to speed exits for academy players seeking regular senior football.

Madrid had decided months ago that Garcia would leave this summer, but the process paused after Mourinho arrived and wanted to see him in pre-season. The Portuguese liked the striker yet could not guarantee a prominent role next season, leaving the choice up to Garcia.

Four of Garcia’s eight goals came after Arbeloa replaced Xabi Alonso as head coach in January. Arbeloa has since signed a three-year contract at Fulham, succeeding Marco Silva, who joined Benfica as Mourinho’s successor. Mourinho then replaced Arbeloa at Madrid.

Source: NY Times