Strakosha Agrees to Four-Year Deal With Fulham | OneFootball

Thomas Strakosha is close to completing a free transfer to Fulham after agreeing to a four-year deal.

The 27-year-old Albanian shot stopper will leave the Biancocelesti after 10 years next month after his contract expires. He fell out of favour with Simone Inzaghi last year and was benched by Pepe Reina, but he’s since re-found his form and confidence under Maurizio Sarri this campaign.

As reported by Gianluca Di Marzio, Fulham have reached an agreement with Strakosha on the basis of a four-year contract. Only the last details are remaining now until the move is fully confirmed.

Until recently Lazio had held out hope regarding a contract renewal but it’s clear that the 27-year-old was keen for a breath of fresh air, and the challenge of the Premier League.

Strakosha made 207 appearances for Lazio since arriving in the summer of 2012, helping the side win two Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. During his time with the Biancocelesti, he conceded 244 goals and kept 62 clean sheets, picking up 15 yellow cards and no red cards along the way.

Apollo’s thoughts:

A sad goodbye for Lazio fans, Strakosha had proven himself a reliable and mature option between the sticks across the Inzaghi era. Despite slipping out of the first team, he continued to work hard, remained professional and rightly re-earned his place in Sarri’s squad.

The writing has been on the wall for a while now, but it doesn’t make his departure any less painful. Strakosha will hopefully go on to shine in the Premier League with Fulham and it seems like a great pick up for the West London side.

Now the pressure is on for Lazio to find an adequate replacement and the lack of a true backup option makes this even more stressful for supporters.