Fulham still need an elite number nine to reach the next level

Despite Raul Jimenez’s recent renaissance and Rodrigo Muniz’s 23/24 midseason heroics, do Fulham still need a talismanic number nine? In short: yes.
 
Throughout Marco Silva’s tenure at Fulham, a goalscoring number nine has been a constant, whether that be Aleksander Mitrovic netting 58 goals in two seasons or spells of success for Carlos Vinicius, Rodrigo Muniz, or, presently, Raul Jimenez. Silva’s penchant for a talismanic target man gives his strikers the ability to solely focus on leading the line.

The nine’s constantly in the box to finish off any lingering balls around the penalty area, and offers an aerial threat to allow Fulham to adopt a more direct style, with Fulham putting the second most crosses into the box, with 23.5 crosses per game. Silva surrounds his strikers with athleticism and industry, which ultimately authorises Fulham’s striker to finish off chances gifted from the attacking flair around him, rather than creating chances for himself, the perfect conditions for any target man worth his salt to thrive.

Element of surprise

Fulham’s adeptness at creating numerous opportunities allows players, who had previously been out of form, to play themselves into form by starting to take the chances put in front of them. As the past 15 months have shown us, Raul and Rodrigo are form players who go in and out of purple patches of scoring.

This has seen Fulham become a bit of an unpredictable side from month to month, depending on the form of Fulham’s current number nine; Jimenez’s December scoring spree saw Fulham become free-scoring, netting 16 goals in a four-game period, while the Mexican also fired the Whites to a famous New Year’s Eve victory against Mikel Arteta’s league-leading Arsenal. Alongside this, Muniz’s incredible early February to late March form saw the Brazilian score eight goals in eight games, winning the Premier League player of the Month, as it looked for a short period like Marco Silva’s men could make a late-season European charge. 

Nine a necessity

Since promotion, Fulham’s most successful spell came with Aleksander Mitrovic leading the line, a natural-born goalscorer, that gave a Fulham side, with a less talented overall squad, a reliable source of goals, with Silva’s newly promoted champions rising as high as sixth in late March. It’s no coincidence that the high points of last season were when Fulham looked to have an unstoppable striker within their ranks, and although we shouldn’t discount the remarkable resurgence of both parts of Fulham’s striking duo, are Rodrigo and Raul really the long-term, consistent striking answer Fulham has been searching for since the departure of Mitro?

While this all might seem a bit harsh, the reality is that if Fulham want to really consolidate themselves as a top-half side and challenge for Europe, a dependable number nine is nothing but a necessity. In a system like Marco Silva’s, Craven Cottage is a physical striker’s dream. An upwardly mobile project, an exciting young manager playing to your strengths, stable Premier League football, alongside the glitz and glamour that is top flight football in the capital, I have no doubt plenty of reputable strikers would be desperate to grace the banks of the Thames.