Cottagers strike £21.5m agreement for Bundesliga midfield boss as medical is booked in

Fulham are on the verge of signing Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Hugo Larsson after reaching a verbal agreement with the Bundesliga club, and with the move is seen as a real coup for the Cottagers and new manager Alvaro Arbeloa.

The Sweden international is already in London and due to undergo a medical on Tuesday as the Cottagers look to complete the transfer before Tuesday’s 11pm deadline.

The fee is understood to be around £21.5 million (€25m, $29m). Larsson, 22, moved to Frankfurt from Malmö FF in 2023 and has made more than 80 Bundesliga appearances since.

Standing 6ft 2in, he is an athletic box-to-box midfielder who covers the ground, arrives in the penalty area at the right moments and offers energy without the ball. He is not a technical playmaker, but he brings stamina, physical presence and a useful goal threat from midfield, and an old-fashioned box-to-box midfielder is a better description.

The deal comes at a time of change at Craven Cottage. New head coach Álvaro Arbeloa, the former Real Madrid defender appointed in July after Marco Silva left for Benfica, has already added midfielder Shea Charles along with Gonzalo García and César Palacios from the Spanish giants.

Larsson gives Fulham another exciting option

Larsson would give Arbeloa another profile as he looks to inject more intensity into Fulham’s engine room.

Frankfurt paid €9 million for the Swede three years ago and now appear willing to cash in, with an abundance of midfield options and a need to raise funds. Crystal Palace and several other Premier League clubs had been linked, but Fulham have moved quickly to get the agreement over the line.

Larsson has 12 caps for Sweden and is contracted in Germany until 2029. Provided he passes his medical, he is expected to put pen to paper later today and become one of the more notable late-window arrivals in west London.

For Arbeloa, still shaping his first squad in English football, the signing would add youth, running power and a player already accustomed to a high-tempo league.

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