Dembele hands Fulham welcome boost

Struggling Fulham have been handed a boost by the news that Moussa Dembele could be available for his side’s Boxing Day match against West Ham. The striker has been struggling with an ankle injury for some time before aggravating the problem while away on international duty ruling him out of action for the past month.

The Belgian forward announced his return to action on the club's official website, saying "It's been very slow. I thought the recovery was going to be faster but the most important thing is that I feel good now."



With Mark Hughes’ side struggling near the bottom of the table, the return of the talented 23 year old will bring some much needed quality in attack.



The club have only won twice all season and find themselves only out of the relegation zone because of a superior goal difference to Wigan.



One of the main reasons for Fulham’s struggles this season have been their lack of potency in attack. The club have only scored 16 goals so far this season and that has clearly got to change if Fulham are going to start climbing the table. The deficiencies in attack are obvious when taking into account the Londoners have only conceded 20 goals all season.



Bobby Zamora’s broken leg was a massive blow to Fulham’s plans this season but Hughes needed someone to step up. Dembele was unlucky with his ankle troubles and Andy Johnson needs to rediscover his match fitness following his two years of injuries. The other strikers at the club have proven themselves to be short of what is required to score at this level and reinforcements will be required.



It is obvious where Hughes needs to strengthen when the January transfer window opens in just over a week. The positives are that this squad isn't too far away from being a genuinely decent side more than capable of reaching the top half of the table. Hughes only needs to tweak a few things in the squad and they should start climbing the table.