“This would be a poor bit of business” – Fulham target shock move for former Premier League winner: The verdict

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Championship promotion favourites Fulham have emerged as potential candidates to sign former Manchester City forward Mario Balotelli, according to Turkish outlet Star.

The 31-year-old currently plies his trade with Super Lig outfit Adana Demirspor, taking a step away from the limelight and signing a three-year contract out in Turkey as he looks to get his career back on track.

This is exactly what he has been able to do, recording 11 goals and five assists in 24 competitive appearances, going about his business quietly and going a long way in proving why he should still be competing at the highest level.

It will take a sizeable amount of money for the Cottagers to lure him away from his current side though, with the Turkish outfit expecting at least €10m for his services after seeing the Italian regain his form.

Star are now claiming they are ready to submit an enquiry about the striker’s availability – but would he be a good addition at Craven Cottage? Is he needed?

We asked three of our Football League World writers to deliver their verdicts on these two key talking points.

Chris Thorpe

Balotelli would be a crazy signing for Fulham but there is no doubt he still has quality.

I expect he will be a back-up option for Aleksander Mitrovic in the long run if he does sign as I can’t see him being first choice.

He is what I would call a box office signing that would get people through the turnstiles but I’m not sure if he will be prolific for the Whites.

This story could quite easily be agent talk as there have