Fode Ballo-Toure has admitted his surprise at being able to seal a move to Fulham so late in the transfer window, claiming that he could not reject the opportunity.
It was well known from the beginning of the mercato that Milan wanted to offload Ballo-Toure given that he failed to convince as the deputy to Theo Hernandez when called upon, but despite several clubs being linked things dragged on into deadline day.
In the end, the 26-year-old Senegal international signed a season-long loan deal with Fulham and it was just completed in the nick of time before the window slammed shut in England.
Ballo-Toure spoke about his move to west London and gave some background on what happened during the summer months, with his comments relayed by the London Evening Standard.
“It’s a very big club, a historic club. It’s been very peculiar. I didn’t expect it, I thought I was going to stay at Milan,” he said.
“At the last minute, I got a phone call from my agent, who told me that Fulham wanted me. I didn’t hesitate. I said yes and it happened very fast.
“For me, you can’t turn down Fulham. I saw how they played last season and it was hard for me to turn them down. I hope [Fulham] do better than last season.”
Fulham finished 10th last season under Marco Silva and have aspirations to potentially finish even higher this season, so it is a good move for a player who had fallen out of favour at Milan.
