Written by Nathan Blake

David Moyes recently took in the Fulham against Leeds game in the Championship, casting his eye over three Fulham stars with a view to a potential move, something that was first broke on ExWHUEmployee’s twitter account, as usual!.

Whilst Ryan Sessegnon has been earning all the plaudits at Craven Cottage, three other stars have been identified as possible targets for the Hammers. Tom Cairney, Ryan Fredericks and on-loan Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic have caught the eye.

Mitrovic could get Hammers fans’ pulses racing. He’s the former Anderlecht striker who joined Newcastle a couple of seasons ago for a significant sum. He hasn’t enjoyed the best of times under Benitez, frozen out at St James Park, much like former England prospect Jack Colback.

Aleksandar Mitrovic

Colback has gone on loan at Forest whilst Mitrovic has been showing what he can do in west London. He’s been in phenomenal form, scoring in eight consecutive games ahead of the summer’s World Cup. He’s recently been nominated for the Championship Player of the Month for March too.

He’s a classic centre-forward, nippy and agile but with a keen eye for goal. Hammers fans might be worried that he hasn’t proven himself at the top level, but the top of the Championship isn’t that different to the bottom of the Premier League. He’d be a wonderful signing; he’s only 23 which means he could well increase in value, but Newcastle would expect to recoup some of that £13m they laid out on him.

Ryan Fredericks is another player with a big future and he was also being watched by Moyes. He 25-years old and came through the ranks at Tottenham Hotspur, but never made the grade there. He spent time on loan at various clubs, eventually moving to Bristol City. It seems you can take the boy out of London, but not London out of the boy. He spent just 26 days with Bristol before leaving for ‘personal reasons’, earning a move back to the capital with the Cottagers.

He’s now played 95 times for Slavisa Jokanovic’s side, impressing more as his spell has worn on. He’s primed for a Premier League move and it does seem as though he’d be favouring a London club, but if Fulham were to go up the move would be highly unlikely.

Both players would significantly improve the Hammers side, both are young and would likely be the catalyst for West Ham moving up the odds in Premier League betting markets – that is, if they stay there. They’re still around 10/1 to be relegated. However, coupled with the final target, they could help usher in a purple period in the Hammers history.

Tom Cairney

The final player Moyes was watching is midfielder Tom Cairney, a slow burner who has taken time to flourish. He’s been a driving force behind Fulham’s ascent up the table, pulling the strings in midfield with some all-action displays. He’s been amongst the goals, bagging five this season, but his game isn’t about goals.

Cairney is 27 years old and failed to properly break through at Hull City in a five-year spell there. He’s a traditional number six, a midfielder who gets box to box, winning the ball and playing smart passes. He’s attracted lots of attention this season; Aston Villa have been watching closely, but it could well be another side in claret and blue where his future lies.

With the recent troubles at the Olympic Stadium fresh in everyone’s mind, and a dismal period on the pitch not looking over yet, fans do need something positive to focus on. These three players might not be household names, but they’ve been at the centre of Fulham’s rise this season and are all primed and ready to perform on the biggest stage of them all, the Premier League.