Marco Silva has a central midfield conundrum ahead of Brighton
Written by Cameron Donaldson on 3rd December 2024
With suspensions for Sasa Lukic and Tom Cairney, and continuing media speculation about Andreas Pereira, Marco Silva has been left with a lack of options to choose from with regards to who starts in the centre of midfield alongside Sander Berge on Thursday against the Seagulls.
An improbable return
The first potential solution is Pereira returning to the side. This seems to be unlikely however as, although Andreas has denied the comments that he supposedly made and claimed that they have been lost in translation, the Brazilian media outlet that initially conducted the interview has refuted his claim and released the video of the interview, seemingly banging him to rights.
Although Silva has denied reports that he has seen the interview and insists, rather cryptically, that Andreas missed Spurs due to a “technical issue”, this one looks set to run for a bit yet. As we’ve seen before with players like Tosin, Marco only wants players fully committed to the cause.
An exciting debut?
Another answer would be to bring young player Josh King into the side. This seems like something many Fulham fans would want, however unlikely it might be. King has been labelled a great talent and should flourish eventually in the first team, however Marco has been known to be slow and cautious when bleeding young talent. Therefore, with King’s lack of first-team minutes, it’s probably more likely we see him start against Watford in January than against the Seagulls on Thursday.
Iwobi to the rescue?
The final solution and potentially the most feasible is bringing Alex Iwobi alongside Berge and replacing the Nigerian on the wing with Harry Wilson. Although Iwobi has grown comfortable with and used to the position on the wing for the Whites, Silva will also recognise that he can be utilised in multiple positions and provide good results in each position. Couple this with Harry Wilson’s form, and it makes sense. Wilson could cause the Seagulls problems and 90 minutes would serve him well ahead of Sunday’s game against Arsenal, when Reiss Nelson will be ineligible to play against his parent club and Lukic should return alongside Berge.
This is the point in the season when the Whites need to show some grit, with tough fixtures on the horizon and absentees not only in central midfield but at centre-half as well. With good performances from Issa Diop, Bergem and Lukic against Spurs, Marco will hope this continues with whoever gives the nod to against Brighton.
