Martin Jol has made his first meaningful foray into the summer transfer market with the capture of John Arne Riise on a three-year deal from Roma. The move, for an undisclosed fee, sees the Norwegian return to the Premier League following a three year exile and Riise, having spent seven years at Liverpool, will bring plenty experience of England’s top-flight.
The transfer follows on the heels of Hungarian Csaba Somogyi’s move to Craven Cottage as back-up keeper to Mark Schwarzer and the new Fulham manager’s joy was apparent when unveiling his new addition to the ranks:
John Arne Riise is an experienced international left-back who will bring a number of qualities to our squad and provide more options for me. He is used to performing at the very highest level for both club and country, and is an accomplished player defensively, who can also contribute to our attacking play.
I am extremely happy that we’ve been able to add him to our squad, and believe that he will prove a valuable addition as we progress.
The Statistics
Riise rose through the youth ranks at Aalesund and played just one season in his homeland -scoring 5 goals in 25 appearances- before being snapped up by AS Monaco. He spent three seasons in France, but failed to properly establish himself under Claude Puel and played only 44 games, scoring 4 goals, before making his way to Anfield in the summer of 2001.
Riise’s seven campaigns at Liverpool included, of course, the Champions League win in 2005 and his lethal left-foot saw him grab 21 goals in 234 games for the Merseyside giants. As time progressed, Benitez’s tendency to favour Fabio Aurelio limited his game time and the Norwegian resultantly left these shores for Roma. Over the past three seasons, Riise has played 99 league games in Serie A, scoring 7 goals.
Last season saw him grab 5 assists, with only Francesco Totti- who picked up 8- managing more as the club finished sixth in Italy’s top flight. The club’s acquisition of highly-rated Sporting Gijon 21 year old left-back José Ángel this summer meant Riise was surplus to requirements and at the age of 30, should still have a few good years to offer the Cottagers.
The Prospects
The signing of Riise certainly backs up Jol’s promise to bring attacking football to the club this upcoming season. Fulham may have finished eighth last time round but they found the net just 49 times, with their game based more on defensive solidity under Hughes.
With just 43 goals conceded, Fulham had the joint-fourth best defence in the Premier League, with only the top three conceding less goals, and it’s worth noting that last season Brede Hangeland and Aaron Hughes -Fulham’s only first-choice defenders during Sparky’s tenure- ended as first and second for “Value” in Fantasy Premier League (FPL). Hangeland started at 5.5 and racked up 154 points, whereas Hughes came in at 5.0 and picked up 129 points.
Just quite how much Jol’s brand of football may diminish Fulham’s defensive potential remains to be seen, though Riise’s threat going forward -similar to Hangeland- should see him balance out any drop in clean sheets and offer a Fantasy alternative to his compatriot at the back.
