London Premier League club Fulham have seen their fortunes boosted after a takeover from American billionaire Shahid Khan. After years of association with the club as owner, Mohammad Al Fayed sold on the club to the American, who is also owner of NFL Franchise Jacksonville Jaguars. The investment of money which should come from the new owner, will renew hopes that the Craven Cottage side can start to gain a stronger footing in the English top flight. The new owner has already said that he will build upon the foundations which have already been laid by Fayed.
Around £150 million was shelled out by Khan to purchase the London side and he now has 100 per cent control. It ends Fayed’s 16 year ownership of the club. Khan has said that he will respect history and he wants to drive Fulham forward, beyond recent successes of reaching the Europa League final in 2010 and finishing 12th in the Premier League last term. He is ready to take Fulham to the next level.
The flambouyant moustache that Khan wears will probably become a feature of the scene at Craven Cottage, and the takeover has sparked online betting site Ladbrokes to fire up some new markets for Fulham.
The online betting site has listed Fulham as 25/1 to be the biggest Premier League spenders in the summer. It is unlikely that the Craven Cottage outfit are going to really pull in big names at the moment, not until they prove themselves in the league a little more. But a more realistic offering of 5/4 has been listed for the Cottagers to go and break their own current transfer record during the current transfer window, which stands at the £11.5 million which they paid for Steve Marlett.
In addition to those Fulham betting odds, Martin Jol’s men are booked at 11/4 for a top ten finish this season, and out at 33/1 to break into the top six. On the other side of the coin, they on offer at 7/1 to get relegated from the Premier League next season, and around 11/1 is on Jol to be the next Premier League manager to leave his post.
With Khan’s takeover at Craven Cottage, Fulham becomes the sixth club owned by an American, joining Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Sunderland. Ladbrokes have listed a price of 50/1 that the majority of Premier League clubs will be owned by Americans by the year 2020.
