Fulham have this afternoon confirmed the loan signing of Chelsea’s 19-year old French forward Gael Kakuta on a season long loan.
Kakuta has made 5 appearances for Chelsea this season, amassing just 123 minutes of pitch time. His opportunities will surely be more frequent at Craven Cottage however, as Mark Hughes desperately searches for attacking options and goals with Bobby Zamora sidelined, to ease the pressure on converted midfielder Clint Dempsey.
At first glance the move seems of little interest to Fantasy Managers, until you consider that Kakuta, a left-winger or striker, is available in the Fantasy Premier League game as a midfielder and is priced at 5.4.
It remains to be seen if Kakuta can offer any potential as an “out of position” prospect. We first have to be sure that he can hold down regular starts in Fulham’s lineup and then also consider his likely impact given that Fulham have possibly the most difficult run-in of any Premier League club.
We also have to assess the effect of his arrival on Fulham’s existing squad members. You would presume that Damien Duff would immediately come under threat, but much depends on how Hughes looks to utilise Kakuta’s talents. He will be one to simmer under the Watchlist for the time being while we look on from afar.
