Fulham join race for underused Everton defender as plan B in case Chelsea negotiation crumbles

Fulham have made Everton defender Ben Godfrey a target this month in case they miss out on signing Trevoh Chalobah from Chelsea, TEAMtalk can confirm.

We explained earlier how Fulham are wanting to add Chalobah to their defence via a loan deal for the rest of the season, with an option to buy attached. Their interest in strengthening their defence comes as Tosin Adarabioyo approaches the end of his contract at Craven Cottage.

However, Chelsea would prefer an outright sale of Chalobah, rather than Fulham’s plan of delaying the prospect of a permanent move until the summer.

One way or another, Chalobah is expected to leave Chelsea before the transfer window closes, but a range of other interest in his signature (with suitors including Napoli, Roma, Inter Milan and Crystal Palace) means it won’t necessarily be for Fulham.

In case they have to come up with a backup plan, the Cottagers are now targeting Godfrey, sources have told TEAMtalk.

Godfrey is facing an uncertain future at Everton, where he has only made three appearances this season (two in the Premier League and one in the Carabao Cup) and is into the final 18 months of his contract.

Reports in Italy earlier this week linked the York-born defender with Leeds (managed by his old Norwich City boss Daniel Farke), Sheffield United and AC Milan.

Fulham could throw their hat in the ring if they fail to convince Chelsea to lend them Chalobah on their terms, in a move that would see manager Marco Silva raid his former club.

Godfrey joined Everton from Norwich in October 2020, 10 months after Silva had been sacked by the Toffees.

Since then, he has made 80 appearances for the club, almost half of which came during his first season with them.

Gametime evading Godfrey at Everton

This term, Sean Dyche has generally preferred to use a centre-back partnership of James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite; Michael Keane has also earned more appearances recently than Godfrey.

Still only 26 years old, Godfrey has plenty of his prime years remaining and could get the opportunity to showcase his talents on a more regular basis away from Everton.

First of all, though, he will have to wait and see if Fulham make any progress on the Chalobah front instead.

Chalobah himself has been starved of action this season, but mainly due to injury. Consequently, he is still yet to make an appearance since Mauricio Pochettino took the reins at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are now keen to sell their academy graduate, despite having him under contract until 2028.

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