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What do they want?
There may be a supposition from the manner in which Fulham blitzed the Championship, scoring 106 goals, that they are well-prepared for life back in the Premier League. But there are reasons to doubt that theory. Firstly, Norwich got 97 points in 2020-21 (compared to Fulham’s 90) and finished bottom the following season. Secondly, they were absurdly reliant upon Aleksandar Mitrovic’s goals. Mitrovic has scored 69 goals in his last two Championship seasons, compared to 14 in 64 games during his last two top-flight campaigns. There is no guarantee that he replicates last season’s form.
Fulham have also lost a couple of players. Fabio Carvalho provided 18 league goals or assists last season and has moved to Liverpool. If that smooths over another loan (or even a permanent deal) for Neco Williams, Fulham must do it as a matter of urgency. He was excellent in the second half of last season.
The defence is an interesting conundrum. It did not matter that Fulham conceded 43 league goals last season (more than Bournemouth and Fulham) because of their prolific striker and attacking style under Marco Silva. But they will face a lot more pressure in the Premier League and must respond accordingly. Their most regular back four last season – Denis Odoi, Tim Ream, Tosin Adarabioyo and Antonee Robinson – started 64 combined games in their last Premier League season and that defence also contained the excellent Joachim Andersen. Michael Hector and Alfie Mawson have both been released; Fulham need defenders.
Jean Michael Seri has also been released after starting more than half of Fulham’s Championship games, so a central midfielder is a must and Silva would probably like two to allow Harry Wilson the same licence to stay high up the pitch and create.
Silva is likely to target foreign-based players and probably recruit young talent over established names. But with full-backs and a backup to Mitrovic also on the list, this needs to be a busy summer at Craven Cottage. No club understands the gap between Championship and Premier League better than them.
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There are some more fringe players who might well leave – Terence Kongolo, Anthony Knockaert, Ivan Cavaleiro. But even there, Silva may guard against cutting a small squad too drastically. He only used 29 players last season; 11 Fulham players appeared in at least 33 of their 46 league matches.
The interesting question is whether those 11 are good enough, given that nine of them played in Fulham’s last Premier League season and two of the 11 were Seri and Carvalho, who have already left. Fulham’s last team in the Premier League contained Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Alphonse Areola, Andersen, Ademola Lookman and Ola Aina. Is this one better than that?
That leaves Silva with two choices. Does he look to ruthlessly sell or demote some of those established names in favour of a freshness that can bring a different edge to this squad in the hope of staying up, or does he simply back himself to get far more out of them than Scott Parker did? That is the dilemma that will sculpt Fulham’s summer.
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What has been said?
“We know what happened two years ago, what happened four years ago. And there are some things we can’t repeat if we want to be successful again. This is a moment for the players to be on holiday but we have to work really hard. We have to take some positives – we did some good things as well – but we cannot repeat some things that we did. Our philosophy will not change. What we do in the market will have a big impact. I will not hide that. It’s important everyone knows that” – Marco Silva, 28 May.
Potential arrivals
- Rabbi Matondo
- Alex Moreno
- Thomas Strakosha
- Ryan Fredericks
- Morgan Gibbs-White
Completed in/outs
Ins: None
Outs: André Zambo Anguissa (£13m), Fabio Carvalho (£6m), Cyrus Christie, Michael Hector, Alfie Mawson, Fabri, Jean Michael Seri (all released)
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