Report: Fulham academy man could be on his way to Championship side as they show an interest

It might be the end of the road for this academy graduate, but it’s certainly something we should have seen coming.

Which should take the sting off it a little bit, because it won’t be that big a surprise. According to a report from Alan Nixon at The Sun, Middlesbrough are interested in Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli.

With Marek Rodak looking as if he is going to keep hold of the number one jersey this season after his great displays at the end of the last campaign, and the club also supposedly taking a look at Paulo Gazzaniga at Tottenham Hotspur and Mattia Perin at Juventus, it looks as if there isn’t going to be a lot of room for the academy graduate at Craven Cottage in 2019/20, even as a substitute.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago that I felt Bettinelli’s time at the club would come to an end, and it would seem as though that is the case, and if I’m being honest whilst it would be sad to see him go, I won’t hold it against him for seeking a move.

And given the way he has handled his situation at the club, compared to other players who have departed in recent seasons, I don’t think many fans will disagree with me on that last line.

It’s hard whenever one of your own has to leave the club, you can tell just as much when Ryan Sessegnon departed last summer. And whilst this impact on the team and the club won’t be the same, it’s still going to sting just a little bit when/if he does depart this summer.

But at least if he were to go to Middlesbrough, he’d go to a club that have some level of ambition (with Neil Warnock at the helm, promotion can never be out of the picture) and we won’t have to worry about him in effect taking too big a step backward in his career.

But there just comes a time and a place for everyone to move on, and for Bettinelli, it appears as though now will be the time for him.