This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Championship side Fulham should be targeting someone like Burnley winger Dwight McNeil during the upcoming summer window to try and secure their place in the Premier League for the long term, according to the view of FLW's Fulham fan pundit Matt Baldwin.

As per the Mail+, the Cottagers are thought to be lining up a move for the 22-year-old who currently plies his trade with the struggling Clarets, who are in real danger of being relegated to the second tier this term after sacking long-serving manager Sean Dyche.

This is the second player from the top-tier strugglers Marco Silva's side are thought to be monitoring at this stage, with England international Nick Pope also being linked with a move to Craven Cottage in recent weeks.

 

 

The west London outfit are likely to have a sizeable budget to play with this summer following confirmation of their promotion to the top tier last night as they comfortably beat Preston North End 3-0.

McNeil could be one player who comes in as part of their recruitment drive, although the 22-year-old hasn't been on top form this season with no goals and just one assist in 31 top-flight appearances this term.

Despite this, FLW's Fulham fan pundit Baldwin would like to see the wide man arrive in the English capital.

He said: "I think Dwight McNeil is honestly the perfect player that we should be looking for, he's got the Premier League experience.

"And whilst his numbers this year aren't exactly great, then again you look at the whole Burnley team, they haven't exactly been pulling up trees.

"You've seen what he can do in the past and if we're looking to move on from like Neeskens Kebano, who I've said in the past I think we need to start looking to move on, I think he's someone who can really fill that role on the left-wing opposite Harry Wilson and obviously the Premier League experience, that's something that's going to be crucial for us next season.

"One of the big problems from 2018/19 is that we didn't get many players with Premier League experience and Dwight McNeil does have that in abundance.

"When you combine those factors, I think he would certainly be someone to look at and with his age as well, only being 22, should things go disastrously wrong, he is someone that can be with us for a couple of years and hopefully be part of a team that can get back into the Premier League should we drop down to the Championship."

The Verdict:

As Baldwin mentioned, McNeil is only 22 so this would definitely be a worthwhile investment if they were able to negotiate a cut-price deal for the winger's services, although they would have the license to fork out a considerable amount for his services following their promotion.

Despite this, Silva's side will also want to address other areas with the goalkeeping department, full-back area and centre-back position all likely to be high up their transfer agenda, with more depth also arguably needed up top.

Aleksandar Mitrovic and Rodrigo Muniz may be two capable options to have, but one more option there would perhaps provide them with a sufficient amount of firepower in the top flight, something that will be key to their survival.

Harry Wilson and others like McNeil would also contribute going forward - but having as many players as possible to get in and amongst the goals can't do them any harm and they may make enough from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa's sale to invest in this area.

The Cameroonian's potential departure could mean Silva wants another option in the middle of the park though, so there are quite a few positions to address and this is why they should only go and get McNeil if they can negotiate a sensible deal. Burnley's potential relegation could help the Cottagers in this sense.