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發表於 2007-6-28 20:44:07
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Fulham sign Hughes from Villa for £1m
Fulham made their first signing of the close season when versatile international defender Aaron Hughes agreed to a £1million move from Aston Villa.
The Northern Ireland defender, who can play either in central defence or at full-back, has agreed a three-year deal with the Cottagers in a move which sees him reunited with former international manager Lawrie Sanchez in the capital.
The 27-year-old moves to Craven Cottage after two years at Villa which saw him make 50 league starts although he failed to score during his time in the midlands.
Hughes had joined Villa after spending the first nine years of his career at Newcastle before a £1million switch.
Now, Hughes is looking forward to once again working with the former Wimbledon player and told Fulham's official website: 'I'm delighted to be joining Fulham and am looking forward to working with Lawrie Sanchez at club level.
'I enjoyed my time at Aston Villa but when this opportunity presented itself I had no hesitation in coming to discuss the manager's ambitions for the club, which obviously were of great interest to me.
'I'm happy to have signed before the start of pre-season, which gives me the opportunity of being with the lads on day one, when we come back to training next week.'
Sanchez welcomed Hughes to the capital and praised his leadership skills.
'I am delighted that we have been able to bring Aaron to Fulham. As my captain whilst I was manager of Northern Ireland, I saw his obvious leadership skills and his qualities as a player which are widely recognised, so I'm delighted that he becomes my first signing of the summer.
'He'll bring some much-needed depth to the squad and a level of commitment and tenacity that forms an integral part of my philosophy for next season's campaign.'
Hughes' Villa team-mate, midfielder Steven Davis, is also reportedly close to joining Fulham.
Sanchez is hoping to lure several other players who featured under him as Northern Ireland coach.
Southampton centre-back Chris Baird remains high up Sanchez's wishlist, as does Leeds striker David Healy.
West Brom striker Diomansy Kamara continues to be linked possibly as part of an exchange deal involving Heidar Helguson.
Seol Ki-Hyeon, Reading's gifted if erratic winger, could be drawn from the Madejski Stadium with Fulham's new sponsors LG keen to see a Korean player in action at Craven Cottage.
Meanwhile, Sanchez has pleaded for patience next season as his planned overhaul of the squad may take time to yield results.
Sanchez believes radical surgery is the only way to make Fulham competitive in the Premiership and he could recruit as many as eight new players during the transfer window.
Integrating so many fresh faces into the squad is likely prove time-consuming and Sanchez knows there are rocky spells ahead for his Cottagers experiment.
'It won't happen from day one next season,' he told Fulham's official magazine, Full Time.
'We are going to have major changes this summer with probably six, seven or eight players coming in. They will take time to gel.
'We need more than five weeks. To get where I was as Northern Ireland boss took three years.
'It was a gradual progression and along the way there were times when people questioned what we were doing.
'But as a manager and group of players we got through that and when I left we were top of the group.
'It will be a similar pattern for Fulham and I want to make people aware of that because there will be days when people question us.
'But I can guarantee that when we get to where I want to go, people will say 'Yes, this is not bad'.'
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=441878&cc=4716 |
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發表於 2007-6-26 22:39:40
發表於 2007-6-28 20:48:32
