What did we learn from Fulham’s preseason camp in Portugal?

The Premier League season is just over the horizon and the main bulk of Fulham’s pre season has been completed after our training camp in Portugal. Two decent performances against decent opposition in Benfica and Sevilla yielded one win and one defeat. But what did we learn from these two games, and where does it leave us going into the final week of preseason?

New signings starting to bed in

All three of Fulham’s new senior signings gained valuable minutes, mostly in the second fixture against Sevilla. Ryan Sessegnon had already come on as a substitute against Benfica before starting at left back against the Spanish side. Sess looked rusty at times, but that’s to be expected for a player who has had such vast fitness issues in recent seasons. If Silva can ease him in gently and work out his best position, he could play a big part this season on his return to the Cottage.

A lot of excitement has been in the air in recent weeks with the impending arrival of England international Emile Smith Rowe, and his debut against Sevilla only added to the fanfare surrounding his transfer. Even before he’d got his name on the scoresheet, some of the touches he made on the half turn with his back to goal in the Sevilla half showed the class he possesses. His headed finish showed a determination not only to burst into the box to get on the end of the delivery, but to put his head where it hurts in a goalscoring position too, something we have lacked from our number 10 in recent seasons.

Jorge Cuenca was perhaps the most impressive of the three debutants, despite having the least anticipation made of his arrival. The Spanish centre back was faultless at the back. Okay, it was just a friendly played at a lower intensity against Spanish opposition he will have been familiar with, but it was an impressive showing nonetheless. His ball playing abilities were immediately obvious, with his line-splitting pass helping to create the Fulham goal. Cuenca was dominant in the air in both boxes and bought calmness to the rest of Fulham’s backline, whether he was partnering Diop or Bassey. Whilst it may be hard to see him playing an abundance of minutes with Bassey in the squad, he seems a natural Tim Ream successor at Fulham.

Noticeable tactical trends

One of the key things to note from preseason is the role Adama Traore has played at right wing in this Fulham side. After struggling to establish himself in his first year at the club due to injury, it feels like he has a huge part to play going forward for Fulham. His involvement in our winning goal against Benfica was reminiscent of the winning goal at Old Trafford last season. Adama’s ability to bring the ball from defence to attack in seconds due to his other-worldly pace on the ball would be a huge asset for any side. It really does look like that right wing position is his to lose this year.

What both of those goals show is a clear pattern of attacking play that Silva will continue to hope to benefit from, using the overlapping full-backs to combine well with a player that arrives in space at the perfect time to finish, often Alex Iwobi, but a role Emile Smith Rowe could often end up in this season. The emphasis on attacking full back play was evident across both preseason games. Robinson’s ability to win the ball high and then create from close to the opponent’s byline was frequently on show and led to the American providing assists in both fixtures. One of my main critiques for Timothy Castagne in last season’s performances was that he was hitting the byline and delivering pinpoint deliveries far too infrequently. Against Benfica, he was much more aggressive going forward and showed evidence of the importance Silva is placing on his fullbacks this year.

The fact that new signings Cuenca and Smith Rowe were so quick to fit into Silva’s system in preseason showed how much the ‘Mister’ (as Jorge Cuenca calls him) must drill his beliefs into his players in training. If Cuenca does get frequent minutes this season, we are likely to see a lot of his ball playing ability in our attacking build up play. His pass into Smith Rowe to start the attack for our goal against Sevilla fell perfectly between their defensive and midfield lines and caused all sorts of issues. Smith Rowe provides a selection headache for Silva. His ability to pick up positions between those lines, find himself in goalscoring positions and pick up the ball on the half turn provide an exciting alternative to Andreas, who often struggled to contribute to goals in open play or find himself in positions to score in the 18 yard box.

Pajaziti shines as other youngsters struggle for minutes

Adrion Pajaziti was undoubtedly the brightest academy prospect on show in Portugal. The young midfielder, who has represented both Kosovo and Albania at youth levels, as well as spending time on loan at Haugesund in 2023, made his first real positive impression in the black and white this summer. He added much needed energy in the midfield in the second half of the Benfica tie, before really stamping his authority on the first half of the game against Sevilla. Pajaziti was strong on the ball, brave in possession, and always had his head up looking to play the ball forward. At 21, he’ll now be looking to kick on and hope for more senior minutes in 24/25.

Josh King and Martial Godo were the other academy players to gain minutes on this tour. King impressed in the opening stages against Benfica, whilst Godo was fairly anonymous against Sevilla. The big question to come from these fixtures, however, was the lack of minutes given to Jay Stansfield. Despite Silva publicly stating Stansfield was part of his first team plans earlier this summer, Birmingham continue to show an interest in a permanent transfer. With a lot of uncertainty surrounding the young forward’s future, his lack of gametime this summer so far has only asked more questions than provide answers regarding the role he’ll play at Fulham in 24/25, if at all.

Positions that still need strengthening

With a few weeks remaining of the transfer window, the camp in Portugal did reveal positions that Fulham still need to strengthen. Of course, the biggest gap remains from the departure of Joao Palhinha. Despite links most notably to Andre and Scott McTominay, it is still a position that needs filling. If Fulham are to play with such attacking full-backs and the likes of Lukic, Smith Rowe, Pereira and Iwobi in midfield, there remains a need for a holding midfielder to break play up and provide cover to the backline.

A starter is still needed at right centre back. Issa Diop isn’t a terrible option every so often, but far too often he shows an error prone nature that costs Fulham potential points on a frequent basis. Getting someone in quickly so they are able to bed in and build a partnership with Calvin Bassey is massively important. The Sevilla game also suggested that Marek Rodak may need replacing as backup goalkeeper. Steven Benda struggled to assert himself in his 45 minute stint, and doesn’t fill you with confidence were he to need to fill in for Leno in a competitive fixture.