Fulham, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest to miss out on left-back as new club swoops in

Fulham-linked Alex Grimaldo is reportedly poised to join Bayer Leverkusen from Benfica on a free transfer this summer. The Cottagers will have to look elsewhere for a new left-back ahead of next season.

Sky Sports have reported that the London club ‘want’ to land the defender along with the likes of Juventus, AC Milan, Villarreal and Valencia. Leeds United are also said to be keen, as per CalcioMercato, whilst The Athletic claim Nottingham Forest like him too.

However, reporter Fabrizio Romano claims he is now signing for Bayer Leverkusen. An agreement is already said to be in place and his medical tests are ‘already completed’.

Fulham may have identified Grimaldo as someone to compete with Antonee Robinson next term. They will have a vacancy to fill in his position with Layvin Kurzawa due to return to PSG when his loan deal runs out.

Grimaldo started his career as a youngster with spells at Atlético Valbonense and Valencia. Barcelona then snapped him up in 2008 and he went on to make 92 appearances for their B team but never made a senior appearance.

Instead, a move to Benfica beckoned and he has played for the Portuguese giants ever since, scoring 25 goals in 300 appearances. He has been linked with a switch to England but will be heading over to Germany instead for a new challenge in the Bundesliga at Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso. They are currently sat in 7th position and have their sights set on a European place.

In other Fulham news, they beat Southampton 2-0 over the weekend to relegate the Saints. Winger Harry Wilson was handed a start and said afterwards: “I thought we were much better in the second-half. There was a bit more space for us and we took advantage of that and scored two good goals.”