Fulham supremo aims dig at Saudi Arabia following failed Mitrovic bids

Fulham vice-chairman Tony Khan has hit out at Saudi Arabia after the Cottagers resisted a bid to take striker Aleksander Mitrovic to the highly lucrative Pro League. A number of European football’s biggest names have been tempted by big money moves to the league after the state’s Public Investment Fund threw their considerable backing behind five separate clubs.

The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante have all joined Saudi clubs over the last year and there are reports suggesting Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez and Newcastle United star Allan Saint-Maximin could follow a similar route over the coming days. Fulham reportedly received two offers for Serbian international Mitrovic from Al-Hilal over the last fortnight but both were refused, despite the striker’s reported interest in making the move.

The Cottagers director of football appeared to make a thinly-veiled dig at the Gulf state and revealed his determination to see off any attempts to tempt current squad members away in an attempt to build on ‘one of the best seasons’ in the club’s history.

He told the Dan Batard Show: “It’s amazing and I think if you have enough money you can get away with anything, including murder, and try to sign up all the top players in the world.

“Certainly they have approached a lot of great players and I am very, very interested to see where this goes. But for us, we are definitely committed to keeping our top stars and doing whatever it will take. We have a great, great, great team. We had a great season and it was one of the best seasons in the history of Fulham. I’m really excited about this coming season.”