Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has told Arsenal to forget about signing their star midfielder Jimmy Bullard. It has been reported that Arsene Wenger has targeted the England man as cheap replacement for the injured Cesc Fabregas.
The Arsenal captain is out for three months with a knee injury and Bullard follows Mikel Arteta as the signing to fill the void left by the Spaniard. It has even been suggested that because Bullard is 29 and because his contract only has 18 months left to run, a cut-price deal could be agreed for his services.
This is something that Hodgson is completely ruling out though. He admits that it would be ‘naïve’ to think that their wouldn’t be interest in Bullard this month, but insists that it would take ‘something special’ for him to leave the club.
In other words, it would take a very significant bid to prize Bullard away from Hodgson and from Fulham.
With this in mind, would you want to see Bullard at Arsenal? In terms of character, hard work and creativity, Wenger could do a lot worse in my opinion. Yes, he is probably the wrong side of 25 for many peoples liking, but he is an experienced pro and one that could give Arsenal something extra.
It also seems that Bullard is one of those players who improves each time he steps up a level. From Peterborough, then Wigan and finally to Fulham he has improved each time. It is no coincidence that now he is playing with the best team he ever has, that he is their star player.
Perhaps he would excel even further should he move to Arsenal? It would be very interesting to see, that’s for sure. I’m convinced the fans would take to him straight away though, so in that sense he is on a winner from the beginning.
What it may boil down to though is how much Arsenal are willing to pay for him. Given his age and given the fact that some would consider him to be out of his depth at Arsenal, a large transfer fee probably couldn’t be justified.
However, if some sort of cut-price or swap deal can be agreed, then I don’t see why Arsenal shouldn’t go for Bullard. Many may think that he isn’t good enough for the Gunners, but I get the feeling that he would prove quite a lot of people wrong should anything come of this.
By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about football betting and football odds
Arsenal News 24/7
If we wouldn’t have to pay too much I would think bullard would be a good signing hard working and strong and would give the team a much needed boost and bullard is also known for being a bit of a clown but who is too say that wouldn’t be a good thing, he would perhaps boost the morale as well!!