Fulham are one step closer to announcing the signing of Flamengo striker Rodrigo Muniz, according to reputable journalist Fabrizio Romano.

According to the Italian reporter, the contracts have been signed to take the 20-year-old to west London, with the Cottagers paying a fee of £6.8 million, with the Brazilian club retaining a 25 per-cent sell-on clause on Muniz.

It's set to bring to an end a protracted transfer saga which also included Fulham's opponents in the first game of their Championship season in Middlesbrough, who were also trying to do a deal for Muniz.

The player's representatives met Boro CEO Neil Bausor to try and thrash out a deal in July, but it seemed as though the Teessiders had lost out to Fulham in the race for the forward.

A curveball emerged just a few days ago when Gianluca Di Marzio noted that it was Boro who were closing in on Muniz's signature, despite Neil Warnock saying last week that they'd seemingly lost out to Marco Silva's side.

That now looks to be true as Muniz's confirmation of being a Fulham player looks imminent.

The Verdict

It's been a long time coming but Marco Silva now seemingly has someone to push Aleksandar Mitrovic for a spot up-front.

Of course Mitrovic with his goalscoring record at Championship level should be the Cottagers' first-choice, but he will need some help and on the face of it, Muniz seems like a bit of a punt.

The youngster has a real lack of senior experience, having only played 38 senior games for Flamengo and Coritiba, however 11 goals means that he knows where the back of the net is.

For a Championship club, Fulham are shelling out a handsome fee for an unproven talent but any half-decent attacker should thrive in Silva's line-up and he could end up forming a prolific partnership with Mitrovic going forward.