Fulham confirm £27M signing of Manchester City forward Oscar Bobb | OneFootball

Fulham have announced the signing of Oscar Bobb from Manchester City for a reported fee of £27 million on Friday.

Bobb has struggled for minutes at the Etihad Stadium this term and has needed a fresh start to revitalise his career ahead of this summer’s FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The 22-year-old has spent the last month on the sidelines after going off with an injury in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Brentford in the Carabao Cup on December 18, prompting executives at the Etihad Stadium to strengthen their attacking options with the £64 million signing of Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth.

Omar Marmoush is also back from the Africa Cup of Nations and after scoring his first Premier League goal of the season against Wolves last week, the Egypt international is set to stay at Manchester City beyond January following talk of interest from Tottenham.

City remain in the hunt for silverware on four fronts and Guardiola needs players he can rely upon in the second half of the campaign, with the Blues also bolstering their depleted backline with the £20 million acquisition of Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace and by recalling Max Alleyne from loan at Watford.

The eight-time Premier League champions are not expected to make any further signings in the final week of the January transfer window, with Bobb’s transfer to Fulham expected to be the first of a series of exits to follow.

After seeing an initial offer rejected by Manchester City, Fulham have paid Manchester City a reported £27 million, with the Blues inserting a 20 percent sell-on clause and matching rights in their academy graduate’s contract at Craven Cottage – though there is notably no buy-back clause in the agreement.

Bobb was in attendance at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night as Manchester City progressed to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 after a 2-0 win over Galatasaray. The Norwegian passed a medical in London on Thursday before putting pen to paper on a five-and-a-half year deal in the south of England.

Upon officially becoming a Fulham player, Bobb said: “It feels great to be here. I had a great day meeting everyone and I’m very excited,” in conversation with the west London outfit’s official media.

“I’ve always known Fulham to be a good club, with good players and a great stadium. I spoke to Sander (Berge), my good friend, and I spoke to the manager (Silva) and he explained what the system’s like, and how the lads are, and how the club is. He seemed lovely, so it was an easy decision basically.”

Bidding farewell to his boyhood club, Bobb added: “I leave City with nothing but amazing memories and I want to thank everyone for their help and guidance during my time here,” in his final interview as a Manchester City player.

“I have been so lucky to be part of such a special football club and to have experienced so many fantastic moments are experiences I will always cherish.

“I have also learnt so much – not just as a player but as a person too – and for that, I’m so very grateful. Thank you to everyone – to Pep, the coaches, all my incredible teammates and the fantastic City fans who have been so supportive to me. I wish nothing but the best for the club.”

Manchester City are expected to sanction a sale for fourth-choice goalkeeper Stefan Ortega Moreno in what remains of the January window, with the club also working to find a loan club for out-of-favour midfielder Kalvin Phillips.