Moving Target – Hugo Rodallega

Fulham continued to bolster their first-team squad on Thursday with the announcement that Hugo Rodallega will join up at Craven Cottage, subject to the player obtaining a work permit. The Colombian arrives on a Bosman after his contract at Wigan expired and has signed a three-year deal with Martin Jol’s side:

Rodallega’s acquisition helps address the problematic up front area, which has seen Bobby Zamora, Andrew Johnson, Pavel Pogrebnyak and Orlando Sa all depart the London outfit over the last few months and, with Mladen Petric also arriving this summer, is likely to see a brand new front line for Fulham in the upcoming season. Jol, clearly, was more than happy with the transfer:

I am delighted that Hugo has decided to join Fulham. There has been a lot of interest in him from other top flight teams in England and abroad, so to be able to add his quality to our squad is a massive boost this early in our preparations for the new campaign. He is a great addition and I think he will contribute very well to our style and philosophy here.

The Statistics

Rodallega’s professional career begun as an 18-year-old in his native country where, over the course of a couple of seasons with Deportes Quindío and Deportivo Cali, he netted 32 times in 69 league appearances. His performances with the latter earned a move to Mexican outfit Monterrey, who snapped up the Colombian in 2006. The move was far from successful, though; 29 appearances harvested just four goals before Rodallega was sent on loan to Atlas, where he notched five times in 19 games.

Next up was another stint in the Mexican first division with Necaxa, where 25 goals and three assists in 51 matches caught the eye of then-Wigan boss Steve Bruce, who purchased the player in January 2009 for £4.5m. Over the course of his four seasons with the Latics, Rodallega had just one stand-out campaign; in 2009/10, the Colombian excelled as a mid-price Fantasy option with 10 goals, seven assists and 23 bonus points in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, returning a total of 149 points. His overall stats are a little disappointing, though – Rodallega notched 24 times and provided 16 assists in 116 league matches. Having admitted he had no plans to renew his contract this summer, the forward was a peripheral figure under Roberto Martinez last time round – handed a mere 11 starts, he slipped down the pecking order behind Franco Di Santo up front and found the net on just two occasions.

The Prospects

At present, Rodallega looks a strong candidate for a regular role under Jol next season, either partnering Petric in a 4-4-2 or leading the line as a lone frontman, with the latter tucked in behind – as to his initial level of investment, much is likely to depend on Clint Dempsey. The US international comes off the back of an outstanding season and, bearing in mind he was the top scoring midfielder in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, is almost certain to attract major interest from Fantasy managers looking to snap up Fulham’s attacking assets.

Dempsey’s price will also be a key factor as to how we view the likes of Rodallega and Petric; he is now in the top price bracket for midfielders in the Sky Sports game at 8.6 and a jump from his previous FPL valuation of 8.5 could see many seeking alternatives amongst Jol’s squad. A move away from the Cottage for Dempsey, with Liverpool rumoured to be interested, would certainly see us reassess Rodallega’s potential – Fulham were particularly strong at home last term, scoring 36 goals – just three less than Spurs and Arsenal – and proved to be a strong source of attacking points in front of their own fans thanks to Jol’s tactics.

The former Wigan man can be expected to come in around the 6.0 – 6.5 mark in FPL next term, affording us a decent mid-price option as we look to balance the budgets; with the likes of Papiss Cisse and Nikica Jelavic already handed price tags of 9.5 and 8.5 respectively, the need for a cheap third striker looks all the more obvious, with big hitters such as Wayne Rooney, Sergio Aguero and Robin Van Persie all looking likely to be valued around 12.0 or more. Certainly, Rodallega has been looked upon kindly by the Sky Sports game with a price tag of 6.7, compared to Petric at 6.8 and Moussa Dembele’s valuation of 7.7.

Analysing the fixture list, Rodallega is afforded a decent start to the season. While a trip to United and home clash with City hold little appeal over the first six Gameweeks, home clashes with Norwich and West Brom, supplemented by trips to West Ham and former club Wigan, offer a chance to get amongst the points and make an immediate impact in his new surroundings.

Further Reference

Hugo Rodallega Wikipedia
Hugo Rodallega Statistics
Hugo Rodallega YouTube