Fulham jumped into the race for U.S. Men’s National Team left back Antonee Robinson and reportedly is set to sign the defender.
The recently promoted English Premier League side looks to have beaten Sheffield United, Newcastle United, and several other clubs, Daily Mail reported Monday. Fulham is set to sign Robinson for roughly $2.48 million and the defender will earn a pay increase, according to the report.
Sheffield United looked likely to acquire the Wigan Athletic defender earlier this month, but Fulham and Robinson’s former club Everton jumped into the race for his signature. Wigan Athletic were looking to sell the left back after suffering relegation to League One this summer.
Fulham gained promotion back to the EPL after defeating London rivals Brentford 2-1 in the Championship Playoff Final. The club also has USMNT veteran Tim Ream in the heart of its backline.
He was set to join Serie A side AC Milan back in January, but an irregular heart rhythm found in his medical forced the Rossoneri to pull out of a proposed $10 million deal.
The 22-year-old left back was one of the Latics’ top performers this season, his first since joining the club on a permanent move from Everton. Robinson made 39 combined appearances for the Latics, scoring one goal and adding one assist. He was also named to the EFL Championship Team of the Week on several occasions.
Robinson came through the ranks at Everton’s Academy, eventually working as high as the Under-23’s before signing a new two-year contract after the 2016-17′ season. However, he never made his senior debut for Everton, eventually heading out on separate loans to then-EFL Championship sides Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic from 2017-19′.
Born in Milton Keynes, Robinson has earned seven caps with the U.S. Men’s National Team, but only one since Gregg Berhalter took over as head coach. He played 80 minutes in a 1-0 friendly loss to Jamaica back in July 2019, but also remains a potential Olympic option for the U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team due to this summer’s Olympic Games being postponed to 2021.
The Premier League season is scheduled to begin on the weekend of Sept. 12th.
For anyone else wondering, “The Imperative Voice” has already said previously that he hasn’t seen much of Robinson at Wigan. LOL
The fact that he was pursued by so many clubs first division clubs in the Prem and Europe speaks differently.
Their scouting departments have obviously seen first person appearances, tape and underlying metrics that show a guy who has a great chance to make it.
City and Chelsea have several of our players on their books and maybe one of them sees the field for the first team. That is our general dynamic in EPL. People think we have like 2 people up, him and Yedlin. Those are the ones who play. There are a list in C’ship or abroad on loan, or who had been on loan and left, who were also technically “EPL” but never playing league games there. Steffen, Scott, Miazga, Harrison, CCV, to name a few. The supposed “stamp of approval” of merely being signed there misleads. A lot of the players end up loaned back out, either we can’t make the permit yet or we were asset acquisitions to begin with. So the “stamp” doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Also, with the permit rules EPL in particular is awkward to use as a heuristic of talent. Most of our players there have EU passports, including both Pulisic and Yedlin (as well as Miazga and CCV). Steffen is a better player than Yedlin but struggling to get in due to permit rules. I also would bet that some of the Dutch and German players are better than the English players but maybe don’t make the permit cutoffs. So whether you have the right passport still matters for EPL, which I think is generally a more effective mid-career destination for most, as you can become a capped player. The periods of time when we had more EPL players tended to coincide with veteran teams who didn’t have to beg their way past permit walls.
Harrison, u referring to Jack cuz he’s not American.
I think it’s an over simplification to lump those players together. Scott and CCV are academy products whereas Steffen and Miazga were established young pros. EPB is even slightly different because he played little for SKC. I don’t think any of those really fit with Robinson’s situation. It’s hard to tell but none of the teams he’s rumored with are typical loan army clubs so if he goes to one he’s likely to have a chance to play.
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Just for clarification Dutch and German players at least until December do not need to qualify for work permits as EU members. It’s expected that permit rules will be relaxed some after Brexit because they won’t have to take every EU member player with a good agent.
What you write is all very interesting, but I think very little of it applies to Robinson. Why would EPL teams buy a Championship player just to turn around and lo9an him to a Championship team? They already know how well he plays in that league. A team li8ke Fulham definitely is going to need defensive help so I can’t imagine they would sign him and then loan him out. To what end?
Much of what you said is correct but doesn’t apply here. A $10 million left back from the English championship is not ‘asset acquisition’ for loan fodder. That’s what Milan were trying to do in January. His fee would be similar here if not for his out clause. Additionally there really aren’t funds available to be thrown around on that type of loan fodder player during COVID by most clubs
I find it odd that people in us circles continue to seemingly willfully forget about Tim Ream. He’s a Prem player for next season, as seeing as though he’s been their best player fr several seasons now we can expect him to continue to start and to get call ups by Greg. Now that Antonee Robinson is headed to Fulham it gives the left side of the usmnt defense a pair that actually play together at club level, which can only be considered a positive!
“It’s always nice to be wanted. I definitely appreciate them wanting me to play for their national team and it would be an honor to do that,” Harrison said. “But that’s something for later down the line. I just got my green card so it’s still going to take some time to get citizenship.”
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“I’d love to play for the U-21s, I’d love to represent England, my national team,” Harrison said. “If the interest is not there, further down the line if I’m able to get U.S. citizenship I’m not opposed to that either.”
He did after this get 2 England U21 caps but that is as far as that has gone. It’s probably water under the bridge by now because going there gave up the green card accrual. But when he was here it was a possibility.
I wasn’t leaving out Ream. The OP was acting like being in the Prem is a stamp of approval. Ream has been in and out of Prem a couple times, but on this stint is not there yet. And johnny when I am responding to someone saying “it’s a stamp of approval,” pointing out how more than those 2 players are signed by loaned out is the definition of COMPLICATING the picture, correcting against oversimplification of saying “it means you’re great.” You don’t get to say the person saying “it’s not that simple” is oversimplifying. My point is it means one thing for Pulisic and another thing for Miazga and Scott, even with the same contracting team. It can mean you are first team starting. It can mean bench. It can mean you are actually loaned or a youth player. Some of those are indeed a stamp of approval. Some of them are treating you like an asset or a project. If you sign there it matters which you end up. I assume some players have that talk or at least consider their odds. But Robinson has a history of signing at Everton not to play there, and then I don’t think he was going to play at ACM if that had been made final, either.
If you read below, I think this was a decent move for him at least initially, decent chance to start right away, team gives up some goals and is not as obsessed with shutdown defense. If he’d gone to Everton they’d already shipped him right back out before. And Blades if they kept him around was already saying stuff in the press like he’d need to work on his defense — which sounded like a backup around as a bench wing option to hit those crosses. I think if he’s going to compete for the NT — which hadn’t called him for GC or NL after cutting him in June — he needs to get someplace he plays. If he sits he’s in the same spot as Horvath, Green, Wood.
Ok IV I finally understand what you were trying to say, if this was a story about Pomykal signing with Spurs I’d agree. Robinson isn’t seen as a prospect signing at least by Fulham. Antonee has been a starter in the Championship with multiple team of the week honors this season. I think your right in that he wouldn’t start immediately at Blades. Stevens is 30 so I’d see them using him as a backup this season to learn the system. Just because Chelsea and City accumulate assets doesn’t mean all EPL clubs do it.
I am not sold on this kid’s ability or convinced that he is a left back. He is more athlete than soccer player, and given his defensive insufficiencies, I don’t think he is a player of National Team caliber. If he transfers to the EPL, I believe all of the above will come to light when he gets exposed by EPL wingers.
Oh the irony if he does get exposed by EPL wingers (hopefully not though) and one of them happens to be Pulisic….
Oh the irony if he does get exposed by EPL wingers (hopefully not though) and one of them happens to be Pulisic….
I have a similar concern. As a defender, I see someone who flinches but can hit an accurate cross. More like a winger in our system. I have some concern if he can hack EPL as well, since he’s been loaned out of the league before, and was playing for a modest C’ship side. I do think that as a recently promoted side with a somewhat soft defense, Fulham might be his best chance among the EPL options that I heard. I think Everton and Blades appealed to snobs but also were maybe going to be too big of a jump for him to start. Blades in particular have a solid defense and were already making noise like “we’ll see if he can play defense to our standard.” That commitment makes Blades a better candidate to compete and stay up, but a worse destination for a defense shy fullback who likes to swashbuckle and get forward. I also feel like the snobs in their rush to back pat anyone who signs in certain first divisions, were ignoring that he was dropped to the U23s for March friendlies last year, left off the Gold Cup and Nations League teams. He played in the Jamaica friendly loss and got cut. If his goal is making money he can take whatever risks he wants. If his goal is the NT he needs to impress GB more, and to me that is best done by roughly what he’s doing, moderate jump, scrappy promoted team, probably decent opportunity to start, make of it what he will. I think if he disappeared onto the bench of some better EPL team then he cashes nice checks at a nicer address but gets passed up by a bunch of Dest and Cannon types who were already being called instead, and are situated better in their careers.
Fulham’s hero Joe Bryan is a LB so this could indicate a move for him is in the works. Sheffield uses that system where their wingbacks tuck inside which doesn’t really fit Robinson’s skill set (he not being super tidy with the ball). According to a Sheffield website the Wigan part of the deal is agreed to its just down to where Robinson wants to go. He’s said he wants to go somewhere he will have a chance to start not just a name like his Milan deal which doesn’t feel like Sheffield.
Let us assume for argument’s sake that Robinson is purchased by an EPL team and becomes a starter. It’s not like the US has a plethora of good LB’s playing in a top 5
European league. To casually dismiss the possibilities of a player like that greatly over estimates the quality depth of the USMNT. In the last qualifying round I recall we played players like Villafana at LB. He is an above average MLS LB, but that’s about it. Dest is clearly better at this point, but he is not necessarily a natural LB and what do we do i8f he is injured?
I think he needs to be in the conversation and I’m sure he is. He gave a recent interview and talked about USNT staff and doctors staying in contact throughout his heart ailment. I don’t think his technical ability fits very well with Pulisic on the left but he’s a better place holder than Lovitz or playing Ream at LB. Gloster, Hernandez-Foster and Gomez are a ways off. Vines has shown flashes but didn’t play particularly well at MLSisBack. Robinson has EPL size and athleticism so he’s going to get an opportunity at a club. If this was 2005 and the US was just trying to sit back and hit teams on the counter he’d be a lock starter.
I am not “casually dismissing” him. I pointed out he was omitted for a lengthy series of “games that count” — Gold Cup and Nations League, after being cut after the Jamaica friendly. I find him an interesting if flawed player and would have him in my 23 because he can come off a bench and hit a cross. But one has to be objective about GB’s demonstrated level of interest. He has Ream, Dest, Cannon, Lima, Lichaj, Yedlin, and others who can play wing back. You may see good things in him, and I do in aspects of his game. That puts him “in play.” But given the choice the coach barely used him and favored others. So he needs a situation where he can make a case. If he ends up in limbo like Horvath or Wood, the coach was already only half interested. Whether you or I or a better coach would have him around doesn’t matter as much if the current coach has a track record on selection. If that coach isn’t calling and is cutting him, he needs a push. And to be clear to the snobs, a name brand club where you don’t play turns out not to be a big push. It’s a weighing between ambition and real opportunity. Since he begins this in C’ship, anything, even Fulham, is actually definitionally ambitious. I wish the snobs got that.
Did you actually watch him this season for Wigan, or are you going by the limited minutes he saw under Greg Berhalter? His defensive awareness and positioning got a lot better and was even in the team of the month a few times I believe. A team like AC Milan or others in the Premier League wouldn’t have come after him if he isn’t trending in the right direction as a LB, so I don’t think there is a lot to worry about tbh
You’re making the same assumption as the OP, that he was being signed by ACM to play, and not to be loaned around. Based on his history a cynical take is a player from Wigan of the C’ship who doesn’t score 20 goals and has previously signed with Everton only to be loaned back out, is probably NOT being signed by ACM to come in and start. Project at best, loan asset at worst. I am sure this move is less money. I am also sure this is a better career opportunity.