There’s a synergy in the profiles of Fulham’s last six permanent signings, across three windows. Shea Charles is 22, Gonzalo Garcia is 22, César Palacios is 21, Jonah Kusi-Asare is 18, Oscar Bobb is 22, Kevin is 22.

Aside from reading a little bit like the chorus of Taylor Swift’s hit from 2012, there has been a clear shift in what Fulham are trying to do - first under Marco Silva, and now under Álvaro Arbeloa: get younger.

Compare those incomings to the ages of the departing first team players in that period - 35-year-old Raul, three 29-year-olds in Sasa Lukić, Issa Diop and Harry Wilson, 30-year-old Adama Traore, 28-year-old Andreas Pereira - and the picture becomes clearer; this is a genuine attempt to shift the average age of the squad down into a more manageable bracket.

This is somewhat overdue. Fulham had the oldest average age in a Starting XI in the Premier League last season, with Marco Silva consistently choosing to place his trust in more experienced members of the squad. There is nothing wrong with this in principle, and Marco’s achievements speak for themselves in terms of returning Fulham to a stable Premier League unit, but it does come with some issues that threaten the health of the club from a longer term perspective.

Firstly, it is far more difficult to sell on players for a profit once they are past or towards the end of their ‘prime window’, which in football is generally considered to be from about 23-29. This is something Fulham have struggled with, and part of the reason why deals had to be accepted for Lukić and Diop this summer, because there’s not loads of value in the market for many of our players we’d be willing to sell.

Secondly, and with a hat tip to the excellent Keith Gaskin, players in this older age category tend to demand higher wages. According to Capology, the departures of Raul, Lukic, Diop, Wilson and Adama will save Fulham nearly £500k a week in wages, while the incoming signings, without the experience (and history) to demand equivalent salaries, will be far lower than that.

While this sounds a bit all “it’s not my money, whatever”, there’s context. The new SCR rules in place insist that a club’s salary expenses cannot be more than 85% of its turnover, or you fall victim to fines or transfer bans, so it is more important than ever to get these things under control.

The average age of the squad is dropping, the wage bill has been curbed, and there is a manager in place willing to put his trust in more of the youth players. This is not a guarantee of success by any means, but it does put the long-term health of the club in a better place to succeed going forward.

A lack of a pathway for youngsters has been a frustration for a while under Marco Silva. I am not here to diminish the great man’s achievements, or pour any water on one of the greatest managers in the club’s modern history, but I recall being very frustrated about the departure of Callum Osmand to Celtic because he didn’t see a route to first team football last summer.

If you’ll cast your mind back, in the close of the season prior to Osmand’s departure, Fulham had suffered the loss of Rodrigo Muniz to injury, and Raul was being asked to plough himself into the ground again. Marco made the decision to bring Carlos Vinicius back into the squad, despite the Brazilian effectively putting out cones for the entire season to that point, and with his contract expiring in the summer.

While this was relatively amusing in the stands, with Vinicius Sr. being received warmly by the Fulham faithful, was that not an opportunity to see how Osmand might get along with the senior squad, and to test him out with a couple of minutes in the Premier League?

Osmand’s time at Celtic has been inhibited by a major hamstring injury, but he’s scored twice and assisted once in the 125 minutes of football he has played, including an assist and a goal to seal the league title against Hearts. He might have been worth a shot - especially given that he scored 51 goals in 85 games for our youth sides.

Either way, and in the words of Bob Dylan, the times are a-changing, and Fulham are into a brave new world of bringing in players who have potential, rather than experience. Perhaps in this shake up we will also see the likes of Macauley Zepa given first team opportunities under Arbeloa, after the club batted off interest from Bournemouth and Forest last summer and assumedly made assurances of a route to top-tier football at the Cottage.

As our noisy neighbours down the Fulham Road have shown us, there is a balance that needs to be struck between youth and experience.

Stockpiling talented youngsters with no plan, rhyme or reason is clearly not an effective route to success, as their pivot this summer illustrates; but Fulham needed to shift the balances in a direction that was more sustainable, and the signs in that regard look positive - for the time being.

We’re getting closer and closer to that curtain-raiser against Chelsea and the squad seems to be nearing completion. We still need a few bodies in but it’s quite refreshing that Fulham have sorted out key positions at this stage of the window. It’s exciting, but there’s still work to do - here’s how the land lies.

Incomings

Starting with a confirmed arrival, Fulham announced the signing of Shea Charles on Tuesday morning from Southampton. The 22-year-old midfielder has signed for a reported £26.7m with add-ons taking it to £30m in a five-year-deal that has an option of a sixth.

I wrote an article on Charles on Monday which I’d recommend checking if you want to know more about the Northern Irishman, but I’m very excited.

Another midfielder who’s been continuously linked in recent weeks is Thiago Pitarch, but that interest appears to have cooled following the signing of Charles. Fabrizio Romano has reported that Real Madrid are planning to keep Pitarch around. I don’t think this will be the last we hear of this rumour, if Madrid get another midfielder, you’d imagine Fulham will reassess this at the end of the window.

Looking at bit further back, Standard Sport have reported that Rennes defender Abdelhamid Ait Boudal is keen on a move to Fulham following a £20m bid that was rejected about 10 days ago. Rennes manager Franck Haise has come out and said that the Moroccan international is not for sale but FootMercato have claimed that Fulham are preparing a second bid for the 20 year old.

Other defensive options have been mentioned this week and unsurprisingly, Fulham are targeting Spain. Jack Kelly and FulhamTransfer have reported that an enquiry has been made for Real Madrid’s 18-year-old central defender Joan Martinez.

At full-back, Fulham are also looking at FC Barcelona’s Hector Fort and have made contact. They’ve also enquired about West Ham defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka according to SkySports with Fulham looking at a loan for the right-back.

According to Dave Kidd of Saturday White Fever, Fulham are in the market for another five players and are targeting GK, RB, CB, CM as well as a winger. There’s also a potential departure according to Dave, which I’ll discuss in a bit.

Outgoings

A few confirmed departures this week starting with Sasa Lukic who has joined Issa Diop at Ipswich Town for a reported £9m.

I understand why some people would be frustrated by this, but similarly to Diop, Lukic was in the final year of his deal. Fulham have got back pretty much the entire fee they paid for the Serbian and have already replaced him with Charles. In my opinion, it’s good business for all parties.

According to Dave Kidd, the potential departing player is Timothy Castagne. Watch this space on that one.

Elsewhere, youngster Farhaan Ali Wahid has joined National League promotion chasers Boreham Wood on loan for the season.

It’s less than a fortnight until the SW6 Derby at the Cottage and is anybody else starting to get the jitters?

Fulham right now are the pill rolling around the roulette wheel, bouncing between red and black. Will our Spanish revolution hit the jackpot? Or could our season get off to the worst possible start?

The fact that it’s a derby on opening weekend adds to the sense of boom or bust. A valiant 1-2 loss that we might begrudgingly accept if it was Arsenal or Manchester City won’t work in this game. Arbeloa either goes down as the hero who won a derby in his very first match, or he forever has an asterisk next to his name, even if things eventually go well.

After the flat calm that took place last summer, this time around has seen far choppier waters. Then Khans have ripped up the safe playbook and gone for broke with staff and players that have next-to-no top flight experience.

As a result, trying to predict this Fulham season is more difficult than ever. I have found the last few years under Marco Silva fairly easy to work-out; there were a lot of complaints about our business last summer, but I felt like it was pretty clear that we would finish in mid-table.

Our stability was a huge tower of strength that meant that relegation would never be a danger, but as we know that stability turned into staleness and that ultimately cost us a place in Europe that was more than achievable.

The debate online about whether Fulham’s plan is going to work is rife wherever you look online. Until a ball is kicked, predictions that we’ll either win the league or break Derby’s record low points total are both impossible to disprove. Fans like to box in other fans as either ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ and as always, the reality is much more opaque.

I will admit that I was hugely sceptical about the Alvaro Arbeloa appointment when it first was mooted. The admission that they wanted to keep Marco Silva and then the public moves for Kieran McKenna and Arne Slot made it look like Arbeloa was a rushed and impulsive decision. If we’d been eyeing up AA for months and appointed him in the same way that Bournemouth appointed Marco Rose, I might have been a bit more receptive from the get-go.

However, football has a funny way of making you eventually re-evaluate your initial gut feeling. I can’t tell if it’s some form of Stockholm Syndrome, or just a case of digging deeper into the subject, but two months on from those initial rumours and I find myself sometimes believing that Arbeloa is the next Pep Guardiola and that Fulham will be his first masterpiece.

I’ve had the same feeling with Gonzalo Garcia, who in my mind has gone from somebody who will take us down with five goals in a season to wondering if comparison’s to the original Raul maybe don’t go far enough.

All this basically boils down to one single point… I haven’t got a bloody clue.

In theory, a front line of Kevin, Garcia and Oscar Bobb is a tantalising prospect. All 23 and under and all of them feel like they could be Champions League-level players. Josh King, Shea Charles and Sander Berge in the middle also feels like the kind of midfield that will dominate many football matches.

However, is our defence and goalkeeper really matching that attacking quality? At the back we have looked suspect all pre-season and as it stands, Luc De Fougerolles is the only right centre-back that we have available for the Chelsea game. I really like LDF, but that’s quite the game to make your professional debut in.

We look particularly poor from set-pieces and last season Bernd Leno had one of the worst goals prevented statistics in the Premier League.

I very much hope this isn’t the case, but I fear that our 1-2 friendly defeat against Crystal Palace may offer some insight into what this season brings. An electric start, some unbelievable football, but eventually a narrow loss after conceding some silly goals.

It’s that time of the year when pundits predict their league tables and I think it’s obvious that many pundits are going to choose Fulham as the ‘shock’ team to go down. The theory that “there’s always one that surprises you” is commonly believed and Fulham are an easy pick.

Inevitably, many Fulham fans will backlash when they see those predictions, but I can’t blame pundits for making that call. An inexperienced manager, some key outgoings and unproven replacements will make us a popular choice and the majority of these pundits do not live in the 24/7 Fulham bubble like we do.

My hunch is that we won’t be dragged into a relegation battle, but I do fear that a frustrating season where we don’t get out of the bottom half could be in store. Fortunately, the promoted three do not look great and I think that at least one of Palace, Brighton, Bournemouth and Sunderland will struggle with the demands of playing midweek European football.

Many might see that as ‘negative’, but I am not sure that I do.

We have forgotten that even five years ago, the idea of Fulham staying in the Premier League was fanciful, now it feels like it’s not even the bare minimum. If Arbeloa keeps our heads well above water and develops the young talent in our squad, I think we’ll be in a fantastic position to progress.

As ever with Fulham it feels like our progress is by accident rather than design, but football doesn’t give you any marks for showing your working out. If we have a season where the youth blossoms and we play some exciting football all while keeping the bottom three at an arm’s length that would constitute success for me at the dawn of this new era.

Last year I was at the legendary Half Moon in Putney watching a Jimi Hendrix tribute act called Are You Experienced?.

‘Jimi’ was comfortably in his sixties, sporting a silk neckerchief, ruffled shirt, and a paisley headband, which may or may not have concealed tabs of acid.

For the grand finale, he coaxed a woman up from the front row who - and I mean no disrespect - had a real “Pauline from marketing” vibe about her. Fuelled by a bottle and a half of Sauvignon Blanc, Pauline began uninhibitedly gyrating against his amplifier during a rendition of Foxy Lady.

‘Jimi’ leaned into the microphone and, in a thick Brummie accent, purred: “Give it up for Pauline. You’ve made an old man forget his aches and pains”. He then liberally doused his Fender Stratocaster in lighter fluid and set the whole thing ablaze.

Did that performance reach the hallucinogenic, mythic heights of Hendrix at Woodstock? No. Was I entertained? Unquestionably.

Which brings me neatly to Craven Cottage.

It appears our board’s masterplan to finally end Fulham’s major trophy drought is to simply become the world’s premier Real Madrid tribute act. We’ve signed their former manager, snapped up two of their brightest prospects, and if you look back at last season’s all-white home strip, it’s clear the kit design was just a subtle soft-launch for the entire operation.

There is something beautifully simplistic about copying the homework of the world’s most-successful club; it all feels a bit Only Fools and Horses. You can practically hear Del Boy leaning across the table at Nelson Mandela House, whispering to a bewildered Tony Khan: “In order to be elite, Tony my son, you’ve got to start acting elite.“

In truth, Fulham are becoming the Madrí Excepcional of the Premier League. For the uninitiated, Madrí is that “authentic” Spanish lager brewed exclusively in Burton-upon-Trent. It is essentially just Carling rebranded as a premium continental drop: a bog-standard British staple wearing a dogtooth flatcap and pretending it just hopped off a flight from Madrid. That is us.

If this transformation continues at its current rate, expect to see some subtle operational shifts around the ground. Prepare for mountain-high piles of salted sunflower seed shells covering the floor of the Hammy End, expect white handkerchiefs to be waved furiously at referees after dodgy calls, and warm-up those vocal chords for renditions of Hala Fulham.

Will our budget-conscious Galácticos project reach the European-dominating heights of the Santiago Bernabéu? Obviously not. This season, we’re the coifed bloke squeezing his paunch into a Rhinestone suit. David Fauxie. The Clone Roses.

As the now-retired chant goes “We’re not Real Madrid…”, but can we have fun pretending to be them? ¡Sin duda!

Sammy and Jack are back to reflect on the confirmation of Shea Charles’ signing from Southampton in a deal worth up to £30 million. In Part 2, Sammy is joined by Jess Winstanley to look ahead to the upcoming season for Fulham Women following back-to-back promotions. The lads also review Fulham’s friendly against Crystal Palace on Friday and discuss the release of the new third kit.

Fulhamish Turns 10 RSVP: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfDRmf_YMvwvv1TzjsVHflVBPvHR0b2fB6mKBMlzWtKZo1mSA/viewform

Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube or Pocket Casts

Guests:

Sammy James

Jack Collins

Jess Winstanley

Producer:

Freddie Cooper

Read more

It’s known as one of the most iconic grounds in the country; a throwback to a bygone era of football. But Craven Cottage has undergone its fair share of changes over the years. Here are 10 of them.

1. The Cravenettes

This cheerleading troupe were regulars before games and at half-time during the early 2000s. Their choreographed dance routines and leg warmers were eventually replaced by Billy the Badger, who had his own set of dance moves in his locker. The Khans did at one point import the Jacksonville Jaguar cheerleaders, but it was never the same. Rumour has it the Cravenettes were transferred to Crystal Palace, where - certainly recently - they’d have had more to cheer about.

2. Joe the Badge Man

Joe Smith sold ‘Badges of Distinction’ from a pitch by the Hammersmith End turnstiles, continuing well into his nineties. Resplendent in flat cap and overcoat, he displayed his wares on baize-backed boards. And while he operated at several other clubs, Fulham could claim him as their own as he hailed from nearby Heston. He also proudly boasted he had won ‘Badge of the Year’ in 1995 with the official ‘coat of arms’ Fulham FC crest - six years before the current effort, beloved by some, was introduced.

3. The Michael Jackson statue

Commissioned by Mohamed Al Fayed after Jackson’s death in 2009, the statue was originally intended for Harrods, but the new owners of the department store rejected it. Erected in 2011 and removed in 2013, it was made of plaster and resin and now resides in storage at the National Football Museum; its place was taken in 2016 by a statue of World Cup winner George Cohen.

The King of Pop visited Fulham in 1999 when the club played Wigan; it is not believed he stayed for the whole game. We did at least win; our former chairman later blamed the statue’s removal for Fulham’s relegation!

4. Chairman’s pre-match walkabout

In contrast to the low-key Khans, now disgraced Fulham owner Al Fayed was apt to wander around the pitch perimeter with his besuited bodyguards and minions before matches, shaking hands and twirling a ridiculously sized scarf. The Liverpool Echo mocked the practice in 2002, stating he did so to the accompaniment of ‘A bizarre record the Harrods owner has recorded played over the PA system.’ This was of course ‘We’re Not Real Madrid’, something else you won’t encounter these days.

5. Percy Dalton peanuts

A peanut vendor wandering the standing terraces at Craven Cottage was a familiar sight several decades ago. ‘Peanuts, a tanner a bag’ came in brown paper packaging emblazoned with the firm’s name, logo and slogan and cost six old pence or, in current money, two and a half pence. Roast chestnut braziers (unrelated to Percy) would also often set up in the Stevenage Road and do a roaring trade as the crowds streamed out and headed for home on winter evenings. Founded postwar, Percy Dalton’s company continued roasting nuts in Stepney until the late 1990s and was eventually sold to KP.

6. ‘Diddy’ David Hamilton

Born David Pilditch, ‘Diddy’ David gained his nickname from comic Ken Dodd, to whom he was a long-time sidekick. He also appeared as a TV game-show host, as well as holding down a position with BBC Radio 1. He enjoyed 18 years as matchday announcer from 1996, even getting his job back after an outcry met his sacking. He spent time as a club director in the Ernie Clay era, and memorably got stranded atop a cherry picker in Hamburg in 2010. David penned an autobiography, A Fulhamish Tale, for Ashwater Press, and, now in his late 80s, still broadcasts for Boom Radio.

7. Rugby League

Craven Cottage hosted rugby league between 1980 and 1984, Fulham RLFC pulling crowds of up to 15,000 at their peak. The brainchild of chairman and proud northerner Ernie Clay, the 13-man team moved on when they were relegated twice in three seasons, sustaining financial losses and attracting lower crowds. They were renamed London Crusaders and then London Broncos, hopping from ground to ground before settling on AFC Wimbledon’s Plough Lane in 2022.

8. Sir Craven of Cottage

The bizarre character known as Sir Craven of Cottage became Fulham’s pre-match crowd-pleaser in the late 1990s, following in the footsteps of the mysterious Harlequin, Fulham’s first mascot sighted in 1958, and Freddie Fulham, a rattle-wielding character who appeared in the programme in cartoon form. In 2003, during the Loftus Road years, our unlikely knight was briefly replaced by Terry Bytes the computer, advertising shirt sponsors dabs.com, before the current breakdancing omnivore made his appearance. Sir Craven’s fate is unknown; hopefully he wasn’t melted down for scrap…

9. Long haired groundsman

Today’s lawn-like playing surface is tended by a veritable army of people. Back in the 80s and 90s, care of the Cottage pitch was entrusted to one man - Steve Magee. He was instantly recognisable due to his long hair, held back by a headband. A recent Micky Adams interview on Fulham Fix revealed he was willing to go head-to-head(band) with the manager when it came to matters such as length of grass. His tenure overlapped with the Fulham (later London Broncos) rugby league team and he eventually forsook groundsman duties to become their kit man

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10. TOOFIF on sale

In the years before the internet and podcasts, the fanzine There’s Only One F In Fulham was the only way fans could share opinions and information. The 30 years the publication remained on sale from David Lloyd’s Stevenage Road pitch saw, in his words, “lousy lows and heavenly highs”. A purchase of TOOFIF was mandatory, often taking precedence over the match programme for many. An article on this very website in August last year tells the whole story: David and his friendly gang of sellers are much missed on matchdays offering their ‘Alternative look at Fulham FC’.

It looks like we’re about to land our fourth player of the summer, as midefielder Shea Charles gets the “Here we go” treatment.

The Northern Irishman will sign from Championship side Southampton for a reported £25.6m with add-ons taking it to a potential £30m.

Fulham have needed a new midfielder for what feels like an eternity and have put down a significant fee for a player from England’s second tier, but just how good is Charles?

The fact file

Shea Charles spent the entirety of his youth career at Manchester City and was at the club from 2011 to 2023. The now 22-year-old really shone at U23 level, winning the PL2 in 2021-22 while also training with the first team. Charles continued to play developmental football but was rewarded with his only appearance for City, in May 2023 as a substitute against Brentford in a 1-0 defeat.

Charles signed for Southampton in the summer of 2023 where he went on to play 32 times during a campaign that saw the Saints promoted to the Premier League. He failed to make a major impact, with half of his appearances coming from the bench. He also failed to pick-up any goal contributions in first full professional campaign.

Southampton sent Charles back to the Championship in 24-25 on loan with Sheffield Wednesday where he began to show the type of player he is. Charles was a mainstay in the Owls side and picked up the club’s Player of the Year award and was nominated for EFL Young Player of the Season.

Following their disappointing Premier League campaign in 24-25, Charles found himself as a starter for Southampton in the Championship last season. He picked up an injury in October - which saw him out until January - but was exceptional in the second half of the year under Tonda Eckert.

Charles picked up five goal contributions in his 31 appearances in a Championship campaign that ended in controversial style for the Saints. He also scored against Arsenal to secure a FA Cup semi-final place.

A deeper dive

Fulham have been in need of a new midfielder for a while, but how will Charles fit into it?

Here is Shea Charles heat map for last season and there’s a few interesting points to take from it.

- Positional discipline: Charles consistently patrols the right-hand side throughout the game, showing a clear understanding of his positional responsibilities within the team structure.

- Variation in positioning: There is, however, a noticeable deviation in the zones he occupies during the first phase of play, with Charles moving into more central areas. This suggests he is given the responsibility to drop in, receive the ball, and help initiate forward attacks.

- Movement to support teammates: The variation in his positioning highlights the frequency and purpose of his movement. Charles consistently looks to make himself available for teammates, showing a willingness to take responsibility when his side are in possession.

That sums up how he played last season, but how does this compare to Sander Berge and Sasa Lukic? I’ve taken a few stats per 90 minutes for all three players to compare (one caveat is that Charles obviously played at a lower level)

There are a few takeaways from this.

- A livewire in the box: Charles is above both Berge and Lukic for shots and touches in the opposition box, and is above Berge for chances created. Fulham have lacked goals in midfield since the departure of Joao Palhinha and this looks like a step in the right direction.

- A desire to get stuck in: Charles trumps Berge for duels won, tackles and interceptions and isn’t afraid to get involved in that midfield battle while also demonstrating fantastic attacking capabilities.

- Will look to create: Charles is three times more likely to get the ball and drive forward than Berge going off of his successful dribbles, indicating that while he will get involved in the defensive side of things, he also wants to create.

Yes or no?

This is an obvious “Yes!”. Fulham desperately need a midfielder and going for a young, exciting and already proven option is a breath of fresh air compared to previous transfer strategies.

Charles still needs to adjust to the top level, but he’s got all the capabilities to shine at Fulham. It’s bold, it’s brash, it’s ambitious - and it’s brilliant.

The capture of left-back Jon Harley in August 2001 saw manager Jean Tigana double down on young, hungry players, after the signings Abdes Ouaddou and Steed Malbranque.

At just 21, Harley had already racked up more than 40 appearances for Chelsea across three seasons, having made his debut as an 18 year old in 1998.

Emerging at the same time as John Terry, Harley had the world at his feet, but he was part of a stacked Chelsea squad that had picked up no fewer than five trophies in the previous six years — even before the Roman Abramovich era.

Graeme Le Saux and Celestine Babayaro stood in between him and the Blues first XI, and with the arrival of left-sided midfielder Boudewijn Zenden from Ajax, Jon opted to move across south west London in search of Premier League opportunities.

After a bright start under Gianluca Vialli, Claudio Ranieri loaned Harley out to Wimbledon, where he came up against the Whites on our way to winning the First Division. The Dons fell to a 3-0 defeat at Selhurst Park thanks to a Louis Saha brace and a goal from Barry Hayles.

Chelsea clearly rated him - and insisted on a 25% sell-on clause (a phrase that’s already dominating this summer’s activity). From our perspective, a young, homegrown player for just £3.5m represented excellent business. But there was just one problem — we had super Rufus Brevett standing in his way.

Rufus was a decade older than Harley, so should have been looking over his shoulder at Tigana’s first senior British signing. But despite Harley starting against Manchester United at Old Trafford on the opening day (Brevett was serving a one-match suspension carried over from the previous campaign), Rufus won the war during 2001-02, restricting Harley to just 10 Premier League appearances.

The following campaign offered a bit more in the way of opportunity. A loan spell at Sheffield United preceded a brief run in the side as Brevett left for West Ham in the January transfer window. It should’ve been the start of Harley’s dominance.

A week later, Jon hit a 40-yard swazzer against Aston Villa at Loftus Road - his most memorable moment in white. Everything was lining up for him. As Tigana made way for Chris Coleman, Harley finished the season as first-choice left-back, but spent 2003-04 at Sheffield United again, and later West Ham as Cookie opted for Frenchman Jérôme Bonnissel and later the legendary Carlos Bocanegra as he cemented his arrival as full-time boss.

Harley joined the Blades permanently in the summer of 2004, and his Fulham stint would prove indicative of his career more broadly: a story of unfulfilled potential.

This caught on - and, given our recent links with Real Madrid, could well do again!

The early 1970s was the era of the European package holiday. Families turned their back on staycations as air travel prices plunged and sales of suncream soared. Y Viva Espana, a Number 4 hit in the summer of 1974 for the exotically named Sylvia Vrethammar (she wisely dropped the last bit) was the song on everyone’s lips.

It was also the era of the FA Cup song, and when West Ham and Fulham made it to Wembley in 1975 there was clearly going to be a battle for supremacy on the airwaves, if not at Top of the Pops.

The Hammers rather boringly updated their familiar I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles anthem, which achieved the higher chart placing at Number 31 thanks to singer Tony Burrows of Edison Lighthouse/Brotherhood of Man fame helping the players out. But who remembers that now?

Instead, those of a certain age recall Viva El Fulham, a crass, obvious yet simply unforgettable variation on Sylvia’s hit of the previous year.

Credited to Tony Rees and the Cottagers, it struggled to Number 46, peaking the week after the game (spoiler for younger readers - we lost 2-0). Billed in the Guinness Book of Hit Singles as by a “Fulham FC supporters vocal group”, it was the first time this writer ever heard us referred to as the Cottagers - prior to that it had always been the Lilywhites or, simply, Whites.

The song enjoyed a new lease of life decades later when, in 1997, the then locally-based Cherry Red Records included FFC in a series of football club-themed CD compilations. Entitled You Lucky People, after a catchphrase of former chairman Tommy Trinder, it featured Viva... as its very first song. It’s clear there weren’t many candidates for inclusion, as the last four tracks were recent interviews with famous players Jimmy Hill, George Cohen, Johnny Haynes and John Mitchell. Mitch had at least played in the final as well as scoring the goal that took us there.

Yet the release Cherry Red didn’t locate is maybe the most interesting - a rival to Viva El Fulham called The Boys In White. Having competing FA Cup Final songs was a rarity indeed, and no audio of this single can be found.

Credited to Cottage Pie, The Boys In White was penned by one Harold Spiro. He wrote football-related songs for Arsenal, Sunderland and QPR among others and, two years earlier, had been the brains behind Spurs’‘s Nice One Cyril. More interesting still, he was the person who set Here we go... to music, borrowing the Stars And Stripes Forever theme in 1976 to create a universal terrace anthem.

The strains of Viva El Fulham have occasionally been heard wafting across the Hammersmith End in subsequent years, to the mild confusion of anyone under late middle age. Surely, with this summer’s Hispanic revolution, some genius can update the words and bring Tony Rees’ finest three and a half minutes back to the FFC songbook.

Viva Garcia: what do you mean, it’ll never catch on?

Jack and Joe sit down to reflect on another action packed week of Fulham transfer news, including the club edging closer to Shea Charles, their £20 million bid for Rennes defender Ait Boudlal being rejected, and Sasa Lukic’s move to Ipswich looking all but done.

Guests:

Jack Kelly

Joe Sansom

Producer:

Freddie Cooper

Guests:

Jack Kelly

Joe Sansom

Producer:

Freddie Cooper

Read more

He’s been at Fulham since he was a teenager, has come through the Academy and now played at a World Cup. But unlike Ryan Sessegnon, Fabio Carvalho or Josh King before him we’ve never had the chance to sing; “he’s one of our own!” about Luc De Fougerolles. In fact, most Fulham supports have barely had the chance to watch him play.

This season, though, that could change very quickly.

When we talk about our academy prospects, it’s usually their technical aspects that we focus on first. Sessegnon’s finishing ability, Carvalho’s positioning or King’s technical prowess. We don’t often focus on their mentality, maturity or authority – something that De Fougerolles has in abundance.

Let’s not forget that there was a stage in his career where he’d made more appearances for Canada than any professional club.

Watching him play for the Canucks, you could see he was a real leader. He is constantly talking, organising and asking for the ball – he wasn’t afraid to make things happen at crucial times. And, frankly, when Canada took on South Africa without him, they missed him. After he entered the fray, he demanded more from those around him – moving the ball quicker, hitting the channels and progressing up the pitch – truly putting Canada on the front foot.

But he isn’t afraid to do the dirty work either. Promise David described De Fougerolles as “Brexit means Brexit” during a pre-World Cup news conference. He isn’t afraid to put it about.

He was the youngest player in the World Cup squad, but Jesse Marsch has already earmarked him as a future captain. Maybe Arbeloa will do so too.

While he has some way to go before becoming a Premier League regular, the ingredients are there. Modern centre-backs aren’t just there to win headers; they’re technicians, creators and have the same vision we champion defensive midfielders for. Luc has all that and the mentality to match.

A comparison to Tim Ream feels apt; there a lot are similarities between the two. That quiet authority, building from the back and the smoothness in motion with the ball. Ream never seemed flustered and nor does De Fougerolles. Let’s not forget that Ream was the mainstay of Fulham’s backline through so many iterations and forged a cult-legend status amongst the fanbase – a lot of it as captain, too.

Fulham are entering a period where they’ll need a new generation of leaders. Tom Cairney won’t wear the armband forever. Harrison Reed may not be around much longer. Bernd Leno and Joachim Andersen have also captained the club, but there are rumblings around their long-term futures at the club. At the very least Luc could be a successor to Joa.

While it’d be absurd to suggest that De Fougerolles could be captain of the club in the immediate future, it’s not out of the question to suggest he has all the makings to be one in the longer term.

It feels like Fulham have certainly found their next first team player, but they may have already found their next captain too.

We’re less than a month away from the season kicking off and things are starting to heat up.

Fulham announced two signings this week and the rumour mill isn’t stopping there. It could be a very exciting and pivotal few weeks for Fulham, let’s look at the latest ongoings.

Incomings

Starting with the confirmed, Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios have both been announced by the club. I wrote articles on both the signing of Garcia and Palacios so will refrain from repeating myself, but I’m very excited for these two.

It looks like our raid of Real Madrid won’t end there with Matteo Moretto reporting that Thiago Pitarch could become the third academy graduate to make the move to SW6. Marca are also reporting that personal terms have already been agreed and talks are currently ongoing between the two clubs regarding a deal.

Elsewhere, Fulham have revived their interest in Shea Charles according to Florian Plettenburg. Sky Sports Germany are reporting that Fulham are now in advanced negotiations to sign the Southampton midfielder with personal terms almost agreed. Fulham will reportedly pay €30m for the 22 year old.

Meanwhile, Fulham have cooled their pursuit of Trabzonspor defender Chibuike Nwaiwu with both parties unable to agree a deal according to reports in Turkey. I think this may be one that Fulham re-evaluate, we need a central defender and the previously reported Charlie Cresswell is staying in France and signing for Rennes. One of those potential options is Rennes defender Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal. David Ornstein reported on Wednesday night Fulham have had a £20m bid rejected for the Morrocan international.

Finally, a few Premier League names to mention. Matteo Moretto has reported that Fulham are a number of clubs interested in Arsenal winger Ethan Nwaneri and our very own Jack Kelly reports that we hold an interest in Manchester City defender Rico Lewis.

Outgoings

The biggest outgoing news this week comes from Italy with Globo reporting that Fulham have rejected a €50m bid for winger Kevin from Roma. We’re not in a position to sell Kevin and the offer from Roma isn’t far off what we paid last summer.

TalkSport are reporting that Fulham are open the idea of selling Serbian midfielder Sasa Lukic this summer. Lukic isn’t seen as a fit in Arbeloa’s system and the club would be more interested in a deal for him than Sander Berge. Lukic is in the final year of his deal so cashing in wouldn’t be a terrible idea. If Fulham are to land Charles and Pitarch you’d imagine one would head out the door, from a financial point of view, Lukic makes the most sense.

Antonee Robinson’s future has once again cropped up with Alan Nixon suggesting that Newcastle United are interested in the American if Lewis Hall was to head to Manchester United.

Finally, U21 manager Hayden Mullins has left Motspur Park to become the manager of League Two side Newport County. Mullins has done a fantastic job with the academy and deserves a chance at the helm of a first-team side. Go well, Hayden!

It’s always good advice to not believe everything you read online, because if you have been trawling through ‘Fulham Twitter’ this summer, you’d think the world was coming to an end.

It has been quite exhausting to see that every action and inaction from the club, since Marco’s departure, has been met with a deluge of negativity, worry and nay-saying. Not to mention the so called ‘FPL experts’, and ignorant Premier League fans, who see a clip of our preseason and have come up with this patronising ‘fear for Fulham this season’ garbage.

Pipe down and worry about yourselves, because I’m here to tell you, it’s not all doom and gloom.

For the five years that Marco was at the helm, there was stability. But with that came sterility, predictability and certainly in this last year, a huge wave of apathy. The time for change was right for all parties. It was time for a less jaded, more front-foot approach. It was time to entertain again.

Frustration grew as it took an age for a new manager to be appointed, and I was guilty as anyone for feeling that way upon seeing rumour after rumour with no substance. You would think with all the flirting Marco did for every potential new job that the club would have fashioned a shortlist well in advance of his departure, and that his replacement would be made rather swiftly.

However, when you take the emotion out of it, look at the deliberate words of Shahid Khan on Marco’s departure. He said: “We will soon appoint a new leader in a timely but deliberate manner”.

Tony Khan spoke to our own Jack Kelly about the candidates and the interview process, and gave the impression it would take time. And after nearly a month, it was Alvaro Arbeloa who was finally appointed. A possible risk given his minimal experience, but he comes from a pretty impressive footballing background and learned his managerial style from some of the best in history.

And it is about time we go a bit rogue, go a bit risky, and take a punt, because the risk is there of it not working, but there is also a risk of this working incredibly well. And I think that possibility has been totally forgotten by a decent portion of the fanbase.

Although it seemed to take an age to get him through the door, when he eventually came, preseason had not started and it was before our players returned from their summer break.

During the interview process and beyond, he would have analysed the squad, and sold the board on his stylistic vision and how to play who, where. He’s not learning the existence of the players’ names on day one. He had his ideas, but he could only implement them once the players arrived. Could he have come in earlier? Yes of course, but there would have only been so much he could have done, but one of those things could have been his thoughts on incomings and outgoings.

The lack of transfer rumours was frustrating among the fanbase, and certainly was how I felt, and this grew as you see other teams seemingly doing decent, thoughtful transfer business whilst we standing around picking our nose. In reality, Arbeloa would have some idea how his vision would look with our current squad, aware of the academy players and perceived issues with the squad, but this would only be made clear once everyone was at Motspur Park. He would be both pleasantly and negatively surprised with what he saw, and feed back to the board on who he needs and doesn’t need. This can only happen after seeing everyone in action, and this takes time.

And so preseason begins, and a loss to Norwich. The meltdown was interesting to say the least.

Cries of Fulham being relegated were reverberating through all parts of social media. But let’s break it down: not all our players were back, we had barely a week of preseason, coming up against a team near ready for their season. Plus, this was more for Arbeloa to test and check out his team. An absolute non-issue; this was for fitness not for results.

And for context: Palace have lost to Bromley and Lens, Everton could not score against Stoke or Bolton, Leeds lost to Wrexham, as did Manchester United, and Newcastle lost to Bristol City…are we all going down? There are only three spots.

The second preseason game came along quickly and more of Arbeloa’s vision was taking shape. High press, high line, fast acting, direct, one-two touch football, decisive and attacking. Exciting interplay and interlinking, with some bright showings from King in particular. Equally as pleasing: integration of the academy players who finally are being taken a bit more seriously. Another chance for Arbeloa to show us what we can expect, with so much time to tweak and perfect his style, and get the players in to make us jump out of our seats to watch this exciting brand of football.

It was clear Arbeloa’s assessments led to communication to the board of certain positions he wanted to improve the squad in, and soon followed the rumours; mainly of youngsters from Real Madrid, with the smattering of youthful exuberance in names such as Shea Charles and Charlie Cresswell. A clear sign of the change in transfer strategy that for too long and been too safe and predictable.

The need for an evolution away from Arsenal cast-offs was long overdue, and these names brought modern ideas and excitement, or so you would think. The immediate overreaction of trepidation and wariness of unproven stars swarmed online discussions in impressive numbers. And of course, there should be some caution with any signings we make, but it’s about time we took risks, gambled on potential and dipped into markets we’ve seen other teams feast from in recent years. We’ve seen the resale value of picking up gems, and its belatedly our time to drink from that well.

Poaching players from your previous teams isn’t necessarily a reflection on the board’s lack of preparedness, but more about a manager who is well aware of what kind of players he needs and what he wants from them - and the board is backing him. It doesn’t feel like too much of gamble when you know what you are buying. And once you accept Arbeloa is our man, you have to back him, give him the tools he needs to succeed and see where it takes us.

Remember Marco brought Iwobi to the club. It’s likely Arbeloa saw who the board had scouted, and said, “That’s fine, but I know who would work best in this system, I have worked with better: go get Garcia and Palacios”.

Two of Madrid’s hot-shot Castilla players are now Fulham boys. Sensational! We are finally replacing Mitrovic! How bloody exciting. Add that to the talents of Kevin, King and Bobb to name a few, that is some exciting attacking talent.

The naysayers and doom-and-gloom artists will quickly blurt out their stats from last season without context, and that we will miss Wilson and Raul, who are of course Messiahs number one and two respectively. But the only part of Raul’s game we will miss is his penalty taking, and yes we will miss Wilson’s moments, absolutely, but let’s not forget that he went missing for large portions of matches and seasons, and spent more of this Premier League career with us on the bench rather than starting.

Beyond the two Spaniards, we need to fill other holes in the squad, such as back up RW, ideally two CMs (with Pitarch likely being through the door imminently) and a CB or two depending on departures. Full-backs and the goalkeeper situation are important to acknowledge but seemingly are not priorities at the moment. We need a more mobile and strong defensive aspect to this team if we want to play this attacking style of football.

With rumours swirling for all of these positions to some degree, I am more than confident we will get the right players over the line, that will suit our new style of play and get Arbeloa’s Fulham raring to go. If we can do that with players of a similar young age and talent profile, we are in for some spectacle when we watch the lads in black and white this season. Not only black and white, have you had a look at the trefoil laden, 1975 badge wearing beaut of an away shirt? Those red and black checks in that modern style, has to be up there with the best this club has ever released!

Kit aside, the key to success though, is unfortunately as always, the board and their notorious penny-pinching delay tactics. For this new era to kick on, now is not the time to delay. We need more players in, sharpish. It’s clear the squad will take time to adapt, as the video this past week shows, Arbeloa is looking to kill his players. With that, not only do we need players in fast, but we as a fanbase need to be patient because we might not see Arbeloa’s final vision for some time.

Now of course, this could all age poorly and we could be comparing Arbeloa to Frank De Boer before Christmas, but that’s an easy, lazy worry to parrot.

With what we are seeing with the style he is trying to implement, the demand of higher standards he has on his players (if his mic-ed up video is anything to go by), the possible use of academy players and the kinds of players coming in and rumoured to be coming in, this is such exciting time after such a drab 2025-26 season.

No one has any clue what this season holds, but I can’t help but feel excited and I hope more of the fanbase can be too, because the unknown doesn’t have to just be negative and scary, it could be the best thing that ever happened to this club.

As a famous philosopher once said: “"What’s the point of being alive, if you can’t dream?”

It’s less than a fortnight since Kevin Keegan, a global footballing legend with links to Fulham, passed away. Now it’s Franco Baresi, the magisterial Italian defender who enjoyed a brief and largely unheralded spell with our club as Director of Football after his two-decade playing career ended. Yet it’s a third figure, Bobby Moore, that comes to mind when you think of him.

Both defenders wore number six and captained their country, both won a World Cup (Moore 1966, Baresi was in the Italy squad that won in 1982), and both have been endlessly compared in the press.

Moore at least spent several seasons in Fulham white, while Baresi, appointed by now-disgraced chairman Mohamed Al Fayed to add glamour to the club’s profile, lasted just 81 days in the summer of 2002. Curiously, neither Moore nor Baresi proved successful managers: maybe they couldn’t cope with coaching lesser talents. Not that it seems Baresi was allowed near the FFC squad.

Given the way Fayed’s relationship with then-manager Jean Tigana ended, it’s no surprise that the press depicted Baresi as a potential replacement. Yet the fact the Italian’s title was downgraded to the role of football adviser and his interaction was solely with the chairman suggests it was quickly felt the relationship wasn’t working.

The initial press release claimed that Baresi would “take on a range of duties including scouting, recruitment of players, the Academy and the development of women’s football.”

Goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar, once over-frank with criticisms of club policy in an interview with this writer (comments that were never published), was typically forthright: “There is no problem any more. Baresi has gone and it is Tigana now. Tigana has won the battle.” Tellingly, Edwin was on international duty when he spoke. And some may say he didn’t have happy memories of Italian football...

Perhaps Fulham thought Baresi’s presence would encourage major talents to sign for the club. But the only significant player who arrived was little-known Argentine striker Facundo Sava who, in a fashion reminiscent of a more recent manager, Tigana used very sparingly. JKA, anyone?

For Fayed, the idea was “for (Baresi) to repeat the role he had at Milan where he scouted worldwide for players.” He concluded that, while he’d created a position “to maximise Franco’s experience, sometimes experiments don’t work.” A six-month probation period had barely got half way.

Baresi declared himself “disappointed that the nature of my position with Fulham was not as I envisaged it when I was first approached.” This he had earlier described as “advisor to the Chairman and Board of Directors.” So logic dictates there must be another problem the wider world never heard about.

Having only represented one club as a player, his move shocked the football world. He told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta that he had been seduced by the loan of an apartment overlooking Hyde Park and confessed he’d packed more English language books than clothes. On his return to Milan, he worked with the under-20 youth team (Primavera) and was later given honorary director status.

The recruitment of Franco Baresi was supposed to help “make Fulham one of the foremost clubs in the world”, yet ended up a cliche in the same vein as “Man United of the South”. A rich man’s folly, EVDS would doubtless agree... Yet the lack of a Fulham reference in many obituaries of this world-class player is as nothing compared to his loss at the age of only 66. Our sympathies go to his club, his colleagues and his family.

Sammy is joined by John Charles also known as WorldofJCC in the studio this week to react to a fantastic 24 hours for Fulham with Gonzalo García and César Palacios both confirmed by the club on the same day Fulham announced the return of the iconic black and red chequered away shirt complete with the old crest from the 1970s. The boys also discuss the links to another Real Madrid academy player Thiago Pitarch and touch on Roma’s slightly audacious bid for Kevin.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube or Pocket Casts

Guests:

Sammy James

John Charles

Producer:

Freddie Cooper

Read more

Transfers are like London buses; you wait an age for one and two appear at the same time.

Fulham have continued in their raid of Real Madrid with the signing of Cesar Palacios. The 21-year-old has joined Alvaro Arbeloa’s as part of a combined package with striker Gonzalo Garcia, with a 30% sell-on clause for his former club Real Madrid.

It’s apparent to all that Fulham are in need of recruits and Palacios brings us up to three for the summer, but where will he fit in?

The fact file

Cesar Palacios started his youth career for Numancia where he stayed for 10 years before being signed by Real Madrid in June 2020. He was promoted through the ranks of the Juvenil C and B team where he managed to score 16 times in 68 appearances over three seasons.

During this period, he suffered an ACL injury during a pre-season match with the first team against AC Milan. He made his return after nine months coming on for Real Madrid B against Marbella.

Alvaro Arbeloa was impressed with Palacios during his time managing the B team and gave him his senior debut in the Copa del Ray in defeat against second division side Albacete. Palacios featured five times off the bench for Real Madrid last season and played the last six minutes of a Champions League tie against Benfica.

Palacios has also featured for Spain at U19 and U20 level scoring on debut for the U19 side against Germany. He also featured in the European U19 Championship Team of the Tournament in 2023.

A deeper dive

It’s difficult to read into any stats during his professional career as he only played 81 minutes of league football for Real Madrid last season, so I’ve taken a look at his stats playing for Real Madrid B to understand what Arbeloa sees in Palacios. He predominately plays as an attacking midfielder but can also drift out to the left when needed.

As you may expect, I’ve not exactly watched much of Real Madrid B so am basing this analysis off of reports from different sites and scouts, but those said sites and scouts give encouraging signs.

What can we take away from this? Firstly, Palacios was one of the top performers in the division for goals and assists. Before he was involved with Arbeloa’s first-team, Palacios managed nine goals and two assists in 19 games and was directly involved in 38% of goals scored by Real Madrid B – not bad for an attacking midfielder. His progressive carries and pass percentage also indicate towards a player whose comfortable receiving the ball and driving at players as well as someone whose happy to sit and link-up play when needed.

The obvious concern here is his lack of defensive actions and duel win perecentage. Palacios is lightweight and does appear to get bullied off the ball quite easy and this is something that may go in his favour when trying to adapt to 1) more men’s football 2) more men’s football in the Premier League.

The photo above showcases just where you’d imagine Palacios will want to operate. In the middle of the park and drifting out left to help wingers (and Antonee Robinson/Sess) when needed. The run-in behind here shows he’s not afraid to take risks and get himself into good positions and ultimately score.

RealMadridFabrica posted about Palacios back in 2023 and gave a glowing review of Cesar. I won’t go through all the list and have linked here if you want a closer look but here are a few points to take away:

- Versatile can play in multiple positions.

- Has an innate sense of when to move and where to move.

- Very good and intelligent between the lines.

- Gets into goalscoring situations easily.

That’s all good, but where does he fit in? I’m not entirely sure another number 10 is what we need right now, especially given his lack of minutes. How long will he take to get up to speed? Does this signing mean that we may see King deeper? Does this signing mean that Smith Rowe may play wider?

One for the future?

I can’t see Palacios strolling up to Motspur Park, stealing the show and immediately locking down a place in the starting XI. But I think being around a coach he’s familiar with and playing in a new league will be good for Palacios. That Carabao Cup round two fixture in August feels like a perfect opportunity for him to show Fulham what he’s about and it’s clear he’s got a lot of development to go.

I think for the fee it’s a good signing; approximately £7m in this day and age is peanuts. It’s not like we’ve chucked £20m-£30m down on him and there’s a need for him to hit the ground running. My only concern is that I hope this isn’t seen by Arbeloa as a first-teamer from the get-go.

Regardless of this signing, Fulham still need bodies in midfield (albeit slightly deeper) and options out wide after losing Wilson and Chukwueze. Palacios’s position to begin with doesn’t feel too dissimilar to a youth player, good to have around, but not someone whose going to pull up trees… yet.

The transfer engine has finally roared into life at Motspur Park and Gonzalo Garcia has joined Fulham.

It’s a saga that feels like its gone on for an age, and while there are lots of convoluted reports regarding transfer fees, it appears to be a £34m deal (as part of a combined £42.9m package with Cesar Palacios), with Real Madrid having a 30% sell-on clause.

Raul Jimenez was a fantastic servant for the club, but this felt like a summer in which Fulham needed to get the striker recruitment spot on - and finally replace Aleksander Mitrovic. So, have they?

The fact file

A lot of Gonzalo Garcia’s career has come at youth level, with the 22-year-old only just starting to make waves in the professional game. Garcia joined Madrid’s academy in 2014 and has been there ever since (barring one year in 2018 where he spent the season with the Mallorca academy).

The Spaniard rose through the ranks at La Castilla and first fully made his mark in the 2022-23 season where he was top scorer in the “Division de Honor Juvenil de Futbol” (Spain’s U19 division) and also helped Madrid to a domestic U19 treble earning him a place in the Castilla side.

He did feature a few times for Real Madrid in La Liga during 2023-24 and 24-25 but spent the majority of that period playing for Real Madrid B. He did get his first senior goal in this period though scoring in the Copa del Ray quarter-final against Leganes in early 2025. His star season for Real Madrid B came in 2024-25 where he bagged 25 goals in 36 games equaling the all-time record for most goals in a single Castilla campaign.

This saw him break into the first team conversation where he impressed for Xabi Alonso’s side in the 2025 Club World Cup scoring against Al-Hilal, Red Bull Salzburg and Juventus ending the tournament as the top scorer. This earned Garcia a contract renewal until 2030. During a turbulent season for Madrid, he held is own and was favoured by Alvaro Arbeloa when he took over in January. The forward played 30 times in La Liga (starting nine) and scored six goals.

At international level, Garcia was a youth international for Spain at U18, U19 and U21 levels before getting his first men’s cap in June coming on against Iraq in a 1-1 draw prior to the World Cup.

A deeper dive

These stats should be taken with a pinch of salt due to his limited game time, but the metrics suggest Fulham are getting a bit of a player here.

His expected goals are 0.51 per 90 with his actual goals showing as 0.57 suggesting that he’s a prolific striker in the box and with both of these stats showing in the top 20% of forwards in Europe’s top five leagues he has certainly impressed. It’s not just his goals that stand out; 19.38 successful passes per 90 (top 25%) alongside an 85% success rate for passes (top 5%) show that he’s comfortable on the ball and will bring others into play.

He may be slightly less of a physical presence than Jimenez though averaging 1.99 duels won per 90 (top 40%) compared to Jimenez’s 6.67 (top 15%). Maybe this suggests that Arbeloa will look to play football a slightly different way with a focus of playing the ball directly to Garcia’s feet rather than having him be a bit more physical and “rough up” defenders.

This could also be highlighted by Garcia’s defensive stats. Averaging 2.17 defensive contributions per 90 (Jimenez averaged 5.43), 1.04 tackles per 90 (Jimenez averaged 1.43) and 0.28 interceptions (Jimenez averaged 0.33) could suggest that Arbeloa wants his forward to stay further up the pitch. Another argument is that Garcia just isn’t as filled out as Jimenez and that’s an area of his game he will need to improve for Fulham.

Again with the stats above, this should be taken with a pinch of salt as Jimenez played double the minutes for Fulham compared to Garcia for Madrid (and a lot of Garcia’s appearances came off the bench), but it shows a forward whose clinical in the box and good at linking up play but needs to work on the physical aspects of his game.

Exciting

I can’t sit here and claim to have watched a whole bunch of Garcia but from what he’s shown in his career so far, this is exciting. He’s taken steps up in his career both at youth and professional level and adjusted to them like a duck to water. It is obviously a risk to sign a player who only scored six times in La Liga last season but I think a calculated and smart risk.

The price tag is par for the course in the modern game. We’ve also managed to get Real Madrid’s sell-on down from 50% to 30%, which will help us significantly if he flourishes and we end on moving him on for a large fee.

We’ve spoke about Fulham’s need to start adopting the Brighton/Brentford model and this feels like a step in the right direction. This one’s a yes from me.