Fulham confirm interest in Derby's Barnes

Fulham have confirmed that they hope to sign winger Giles Barnes from Derby County as they seek to add reinforcements to cover for the departure of another midfielder.

no_source

Giles Barnes: One of Derby's few star players during their Premier League season.

The 20-year-old scored a brace at Old Trafford in the Carling Cup semi-final defeat by Manchester United last week and now looks set to leave Pride Park.

The Mirror report that Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is keen to take Barnes on loan until the end of the season with the possibility of a permanent £2m move in the summer.

Fulham are looking to add to their midfield following last week's departure of Jimmy Bullard's £5m transfer to Hull City and Leon Andreasen's return to German Bundesliga club Hannover for personal reasons.

''We're talking to Giles Barnes about a loan move,'' said Hodgson. ''Leon Andreasen wants to go back to the Bundesliga for family reasons and we've had a good offer from Hannover.

''Letting him go is the right thing to do but it leaves a gap in the squad.''

Derby boss Nigel Clough said: ''Giles has made it clear that he wants to play in the Premier League again and this is a great opportunity for him to do that. It's something that came up on Thursday and I am comfortable to give the player the chance to speak to them.

''To be honest, it is a very good deal for all parties involved and I wouldn't have agreed to it if I didn't believe it was in the best interests of Derby County. Giles is a terrific lad with a big future ahead of him and we wish him well if the deal goes ahead.''

Barnes played for Derby in last season's ill-fated Premier League campaign but never played in a winning side for the Rams, although the side only won one league game in a dire campaign.

Clough also confirmed the club are close to signing a striker.

The Rams have been linked with an approach for Motherwell's Chris Porter and, while Clough would not confirm the identity of his target, he is confident of adding to his squad.

He said: ''We are also looking to add to the squad at the moment and we are hoping to get a striker in. The chairman is dealing with it but we hope it will be a very good piece of business if we can get it concluded.''