Catania have confirmed that Fulham have put in a bid for Argentinean striker Maxi Lopez. The 27-year-old has been linked to AC Milan in recent weeks as a fallback option if they cannot secure Carlos Tevez's services and the expectation has been that he will be sold to another Italian club, but now Fulham have jumped in with a bid to try and beat out their Italian competitors.
"On Maxi Lopez there are no developments as yet, but an offer has been received from Fulham and we are evaluating it,'' Catania sporting director Pietro Lo Monaco told Radio Mana Mana. "We are waiting to see what the Italian clubs will do.
"AC Milan are definitely out, while we will see what happens with Fiorentina. Lazio? I don't think they need Maxi.''
There is no word on how much Fulham's bid was worth, but with some stiff competition for the striker, it is certainly to be a decent chunk of change. The Cottagers sure do need help in the goal scoring department too with just 22 goals in 20 Premier League matches this season, although there have been signs of Bryan Ruiz finding his legs in England and it wouldn't be difficult to argue that the club's goal struggles are more a midfield problem than striker problem.
With Bobby Zamora and Martin Jol not on the best of terms and Andy Johnson rumored to be on the way out, adding a striker with 24 goals in 66 Serie A matches like Lopez would be a nice boost for Fulham. Really, any striker would be a nice boost if Zamora and Johnson are both shown the door.