The summer 2024 Fulham squad audit

With a group of key players leaving the club, a number of promising academy prospects waiting in the wings and the concept of PSR lingering over every club in the land, it promises to be a busy and important summer at Craven Cottage. Here, we look at where Fulham need to strengthen, who could fill the gaps in the squad, and who needs to be moved on by the end of the summer window.

Goalkeepers

Steven Benda’s arrival last summer as a third-choice shot stopper was as exciting as it got for Fulham in the goalkeeping department. This summer, however, there is more to consider. Bernd Leno, barring any unforeseen complications, will remain the first-choice goalkeeper, something no Fulham fan will be unhappy about. Benda is unlikely to move on after one year, and will fill in as a backup. However, a gap has been left in this department due to the departure of academy graduate and two-time promotion-winning Slovakian, Marek Rodak.

Filling that void leaves the club with a choice to make. Not only was Rodak a reliable deputy to Leno, he helped with the homegrown quote in our Premier League squad too. So one option could be for the club to replace like-for-like with an academy option. George Wickens impressed in his short stint on loan at Ross County last year, and at 22 years old looks the most obvious option to step up to the first team squad. However, the desire for more first team football at his age and with his reputation may make it hard to convince Wickens to be a potential third-choice goalkeeper at this stage of his career.

Another alternative is the returning Luca Ashby-Hammond. Unlike Wickens, Ashby-Hammond struggled out on loan last year, both with Crawley and Notts County. The chance to take a season to develop with Premier League level coaches and learn from the likes of Leno may prove appealing to the 23-year-old who represented England from U15 level all the way up to the U20s. Of course, if the club continue to see Benda as a third-choice option and do not see any academy prospects as an appropriate back-up in the Premier League, the option is there to look elsewhere. The back-up goalkeeper market is a strange one, and never a priority for a club’s spending, especially in the era of PSR issues. Someone like a Danny Ward at Leicester who has dropped behind Mads Hermansen and Jakub Stolarczyk, but still has recent Premier League and international experience, may be a clever addition.

Defenders

Full-back is one of Fulham’s strongest positions within our squad. Antonee Robinson is the club’s player of the season and Timothy Castagne proved to be a trusted starter for Marco Silva in his first season at the club. Kenny Tete seems to be staying around and provides extra quality at right-back. Fode Ballo-Toure returning to Milan after his loan leaves a gap that needs filling though. Jon Esenga may have filled that gap given his academy reputation, but a serious injury in 2023/24 may have set back that progress slightly. Assuming Robinson stays and plays every week, Fulham may look for a cheap deputy. Aston Villa having three left backs now Maatsen has joined from Chelsea may free up the availability of Alex Moreno or Lucas Digne. Matt Targett would be a familiar face and seems to be available from Newcastle. Alternatively, Luke Thomas finds himself out of contract at Leicester City and would require no buying fee.

Work needs to be done primarily at centre-half. Tosin has left and the less said about him the better, and even if Tim Ream’s move to the MLS doesn’t materialise, he’s still in the final stages of his career and signing a younger left-sided centre-back for the future is important. Ronnie Edwards was a name that excited me, however Southampton recently snapped him up from Peterborough United. Christian Mawissa is a teenager who has had a breakthrough year at Toulouse, and can play anywhere across the backline but has predominantly been used in that left-sided centre-back role. Another alternative for that position could be Konstantinos Koulierakis of PAOK. Koulierakis has impressed in two senior seasons in Greece, already racking up more than 50 games for the Greek giants. His form has already earned the 20-year-old six caps for the Greek senior national team, showing how highly rated the young defender is in his home country. Teden Mengi of Luton is another name that has been mentioned, but he may be looking for more regular game time.

The priority position at the back though is certainly at right centre-back. The departure of Tosin leaves a huge hole. Issa Diop is a decent enough option to rotate into the side sporadically, but remains too error-prone to be the long-term option in that position. Therefore, it seems important that Fulham spend money on a quality partner for Bassey going forward.

Looking at potential options, I like the look of Josip Sutalo at Ajax. The Croat played all three of their Euro 2024 games alongside Josko Gvardiol of Manchester City and Bassey has shown that the transition from the Eredivisie to this level is one that is possible to adapt to. Merih Demiral may have become a forgotten man after moving to the Saudi Pro League, but his performances for Turkey this summer, including two goals in their Last 16 tie with Austria, may have put his name back in the minds of European scouting departments. Anel Ahmedhodzic of Sheffield United is a player that, despite Sheffield United’s horrendous season defensively, remains highly rated and may thrive in a backline that doesn’t face quite as much pressure as the team that conceded the most goals in Premier League history.

Midfielders

Fulham would ideally love to not have to invest heavily in the midfield positions this summer, but Palhinha’s move to Bayern Munich leaves the club needing a big signing in the middle of the park. The importance of the position and the replacement for Palhinha is shown in the way Silva often used two players to fill in for the games in which he was absent in the 2023/24 season. Josh King and the even younger Seth Ridgeon are both exceptionally talented midfielders, but it is far too early to expect them to step up into first team contention, even if King does get the odd cup opportunity. While Harrison Reed and Sasa Lukic are both quality and useful Premier League options, they are not the outstanding number six option required to play in this role by Marco Silva. Ultimately, Fulham never really signed a defensive midfield cover for Joao, so two signings in this specific position may prove necessary.

One obvious replacement would be the Brazilian Andre, who has been linked to the club time after time since promotion to the Premier League two years ago. The 22 year old Fluminense star already has five caps for Brazil, making his debut against Senegal in 2023. A cheap option could be Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester, who is yet to sign a new club with the champions of the Championship. The Nigerian international is an established Premier League player and is still only 27 years old. Ndidi has developed his on-the-ball ability under Enzo Maresca and could still be an incredibly handy option.

James Garner at Everton is a quality player, and if Onana was to stay at Goodison Park, the Englishman may look to move on for more guaranteed game time elsewhere. Kalvin Phillips is another name that has been linked, but his loan stint at West Ham suggests his level of performance of late isn’t too encouraging. I also really like Oliver Skipp of Tottenham, who is a true ball winner in the middle and is looking to leave the North London club in search of more regular game time.

Were bids to also arise for Andreas Pereira, the club would have another regular starter to replace. Links have been made to PSG and Atletico Madrid among other big clubs across Europe. Silva and his recruitment team would not only have to look to replace his pressing qualities, but also find a player who contributes more to goals and assists from open play. With Cairney acting more in deeper roles last season and Luke Harris not yet ready for a regular first team bout, a new name would have to be signed to replace Pereira if the circumstances arose. Georgiy Sudakov of Shakhtar Donestk would be an ambitious signing and relations may be poor with the Ukrainians after the Manor Solomon affair, but that would be one hell of a signing. Calvin Stengs could be another quality addition, playing brilliantly last season for Feyenoord, with 18 goal contributions in 29 Eredivisie outings.

Forwards

The forward line will probably be the area of most change this summer. In the number nine position, Carlos Vinicius and Jay Stansfield return from loans at Galatasaray and Birmingham City, respectively. Rodrigo Muniz has established himself as Fulham’s most exciting and prolific striker and Raul Jimenez remains an option too. Vini looks the most likely to depart, given how often Raul and Muniz featured last year and based on the fact that Silva has confirmed Stansfield will be part of the first team set up going into the 24/25 season. Kieron Bowie is likely to earn a loan to the Championship after two impressive seasons with Northampton. And whilst Godo, Osmand and Lupalo-Bi are all incredibly highly rated in the youth setup, none are likely to graduate to first team football this coming year.

Out wide, Willian and Bobby De Cordova-Reid look to be leaving upon the expiry of their contracts. While Alex Iwobi can play on the left wing, the Nigerian is also utilised in midfield, leaving Fulham with a lack of natural left sided forwards. Crysencio Summerville of Leeds could be a really exciting signing, however he could potentially look to be joining a Premier League club playing European football.

Antonio Nusa at Club Brugge is a really exciting teenage prospect and a full Norweigan international. If Silva were to take a gamble on Nusa and improve his ability to contribute to goals, he could be an incredibly good signing. Jaden Philogene, like Summerville, impressed hugely in the Championship last season and is being courted by a range of Premier League clubs, Fulham should be one of them. Jacob Bruun Larsen of Hoffenheim has just come back from the Euros after featuring for Denmark and looked very impressive on occasions in front of goal for a poor Burnley side last season, he’s a player who would be immediately up to speed in the Premier League and offer a great goal-scoring threat.

Conclusions

Fulham are light in very specific areas and, if expected, an important player or two were to leave, the club would be in a good position to spend. Centre-back, holding midfield and left-wing seem to be the positions the club most need to focus in, but ensuring competition is strong in every position is important, so competition for the likes of Robinson, Leno and Lukic would be important too. Whether Fulham look to act early and have key names in through the door for pre-season, or continue to leave big signings until late in the window to help accommodate lower transfer fees, is yet to be seen.