Newcastle United’s hopes of signing Tom Cairney have suffered a huge setback as Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic claims he is not for sale no matter what deal is offered, according to a report on Chronicle Live.
The Fulham boss confirmed that Championship winners Newcastle made a £20m bid for the 26-year-old but it was rejected by the London club.
The Serbian manager is confident that his star player will not be leaving Craven Cottage this year, no matter what price is offered for him.
Jokanovic was questioned about Cairney and said:
Yes, he’s good. Benitez asked for him and they offered £20million, but we did not let him go. He is not for Newcastle, he fits in at Fulham.
Cairney set the Championship alight last season with some dazzling performances leading Fulham to the play-offs, where they crashed out to Reading. Jokanovic is keen to mount another promotion push next season and is adamant that Cairney is the man to lead his side.
The Scottish international found the back of the net 13 times last season and also managed to register ten assists in a season that increased had clubs monitoring him closely.
Missing out on signing Cairney will be disappointing for Toon manager Rafa Benitez as he is one of their key transfer targets.
We are yet to see whether Cairney wants to make the move to the Premier League side this season or not but Benitez will continue to attempt to lure the player to St James’ Park as he looks to add depth to his squad before the season starts.
