Starting early for a change: Amorebieta and Boateng sign for Fulham

With the horrors of last summer’s transfer window still fresh in many fans’ minds, it’s nice to see additions taking place early on. Not just because of how last summer’s window ended with the departure of two of the club’s best players days before the end.

But also because of how it began… with nothing. And also with how it continued halfway through… with more nothing. Last summer’s transfer window was painful because it was so empty. Martin Jol and the board waited ages to make any kind of moves and address obvious needs.

This summer, the signs are obvious – things are going to be different. Very different.

With the official transfer window not even begun yet, Fulham have signed one player for a fee (Sascha Riether’s loan was made permanent for £1-2 million) and now two shrewd free transfers have been confirmed.

The club confirmed that Derek Boateng will join Fulham immediately, having been released after a contract dispute with his club Dnipro, and Fernando Amorebieta will join the club on a bosman at the end of the Spanish season from Athletic Bilbao.

Derek Boateng is a household name with many Fulham fans by now, with the completion of the transfer on the fourth attempt by the club to get him. The 30-year-old signed a 2-year deal with Fulham and is a strong presence in the midfield, reminiscent of Dickson Etuhu in years past.

Amorebieta has been rumored to be joining Fulham for the better part of 2 months now, and all you need to know about the experienced central defender is how quickly Martin Jol acted as soon as word got out he wouldn’t be re-signing with Bilbao. Jol isn’t someone with a ton of contacts in the Spanish league, but he made it happen, with the likes of Arsenal also rumored to be in the mix.

Amorebieta just recently turned 28, young for a man of his experience. He’s got 195 Primera Division games under his belt since 2005, plus another 56 in domestic and cup competitions abroad.

There are still holes, with needs at striker, more midfield, and maybe even a goalkeeper, but it’s nice to see the gears moving so early. There are reports out of Italy that Fulham have signed Maarten Stekelenburg to replace Mark Schwarzer between the sticks, so clearly they’re not done yet.