Mark Hughes believes his ability to spot a player at the right price will come to the fore at Fulham.
Fulham boss ready to wheel and deal as he plays the market
Mark Hughes believes his ability to spot a player will come to the fore at Fulham given he no longer deals with the astronomical budgets afforded to him at Manchester City.
Prior to his spell at Eastlands, where he was practically given a blank chequebook and told to spend, he earned a reputation for being a shrewd mover in the transfer market when at Blackburn.
Carlos Salcido, a £1.6million summer signing from PSV Eindhoven, has quickly settled into life at Craven Cottage since being brought to the club by Hughes, with the Welshman of the opinion the Mexican's success is testimony to his eye for a bargain.
The buccaneering left-back is capable of delivering pinpoint crosses, as Clint Dempsey would attest after profiting from his team-mate's delivery at the weekend in bagging a brace in a 2-0 over Wigan.
"I enjoy the part of spotting a player's potential," said Hughes.
"Maybe it was forgotten I could do that when I was at City because people presumed I could cherry pick players, spending lots of money...which I probably did!
"But prior to that I actually had a track record of picking decent players. I'll back my judgment on players time and time again. I like to think I'm good at it.
"At City they wanted to run very quickly so we had to get numbers in. At times it was too many, too soon, but that was the remit I was working to.
"When you can use time, your judgment and your contacts, then you can get good players in."
Ideal replacement
Salcido's remarkably swift acclimatisation to the Premier League has meant the departure of Paul Konchesky has barely been noticed.
Konchesky joined former Fulham manager Roy Hodgson at Liverpool in a £4million deal but Hughes believes he has signed a superior replacement.
"The situation with Konchesky presented itself when I walked through the door here," he said.
"We tried to resist the attention of Liverpool. We managed it for a few weeks but then decided to look at our options.
"We wanted someone who would enhance us, certainly not weaken us. If I felt Paul leaving would weaken us, I wouldn't have allowed it to happen.
"I'd seen Carlos, the level he'd played at and his experience and didn't see it as a risk allowing Paul to go.
"Now you're starting to see what Carlos can do. He's very humble and enjoys his work.
"He thrives in this environment with the type of football we're playing. Overall it's a good fit."
