Fulham 'targeting Swansea boss Cooper' in bid for top-flight return
Fulham ‘targeting Swansea boss Steve Cooper’ as the west Londoners target an immediate return to the Premier League… with Scott Parker set to join Bournemouth after two years in charge at Craven Cottage
- Swansea lost the Championship play-off final 2-0 to Brentford late last month
- However, Steve Cooper’s attractive brand of football is rated highly by Fulham
- Scott Parker is set to move to Bournemouth after a second relegation in charge
- Cooper took England’s Under-17s to World Cup glory against Spain in 2017
- Fulham will hope Cooper can blood more youngsters like winger Fabio Carvalho
Fulham have reportedly put Swansea manager Steve Cooper top of their managerial wishlist in the club’s search for a successor to Scott Parker, who seems set to join Bournemouth.
The attractive brand of football Cooper has implemented at the Liberty is felt by Craven Cottage bosses to be a good match for the west London side, who are also drawn to the fact that they would need to play just £3.5million to bring the Welshman and his team to the capital, according to The Sun.
Parker suffered his second relegation with Fulham last month since taking over from Claudio Ranieri in February 2019 and The Athletic have reported that the club’s hierarchy were furious at the manner in which their fate was sealed.
Fulham are looking to hire Steve Cooper after his Swansea side just missed out on promotion
The Welsh side reached the Championship play-off final before losing to Brentford at Wembley
Scott Parker is expected to take over at Bournemouth after another relegation with Fulham
A successful survival push looked like it had some momentum after a famous 1-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield in March left the Whites 18th behind Brighton only on goal difference.
However, their hopes of avoiding a swift return to the Championship were dashed, with the team picking up just two points from their last 10 games, with relegation confirmed following a 2-0 defeat at home to Burnley on 10 May.
Bournemouth will reportedly pay to take Parker, who is only one year into a three-year deal, with Jonathan Woodgate’s deal as interim boss running out at the end of June as the Cherries prepare for another season in England’s second tier after they lost in the play-off semi-finals to eventual winners Brentford.
Cooper’s men lost to the Bees 2-0 in the Wembley showpiece, with Thomas Frank’s side also eliminating the Swans at the play-off semi-final stage, in what was Cooper’s first season managing a senior side.
Cooper helped England to Under-17 World Cup glory in 2017 with a team containing Phil Foden
Fulham will be hoping that Cooper can bring through more youngsters like Fabio Carvalho
Cooper’s experience with young players is also a notable plus point, with the 41-year-old taking England to Under-17 World Cup glory against Spain with a squad containing the likes of Phil Foden and Callum Hudson-Odoi, as well as Fulham right back Steven Sessegnon, who was on loan at Bristol City this season.
Fulham had the best Under-18 side in the south of England, with the team reaching losing their age-group Premier League final 3-1 to Manchester City.
If Cooper can nurture talent to follow in the footsteps of Tyrese Francois, Sylvester Jasper and Fabio Carvalho, the last of whom scored on his first top-flight start against Southampton last month, the future could be bright once more on the banks of the Thames.
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