5 players under 23 to lower Fulham's average squad age
George Rossiter looks at five names the Whites could target this summer to inject some more youth into the ranks.
Many Fulham fans have commented in recent years about the prominence of older players within the squad, with the Whites frequently boasting one of the league’s oldest squads since returning to the Premier League under Marco Silva in 2022. Here’s a look at five lesser-known diamonds Fulham could make a move for to lower the average age of their squad this summer.
Sławomir Abramowicz
Fulham have made their intentions clear that they intend to add a back-up goalkeeper in this transfer window. While links to Mat Ryan suggest a desire for experience, I think it’s better to plan for a future beyond Bernd Leno, with Steven Benda certainly not being his successor in waiting. At 21, Abramowicz has just had his breakthrough season both in the Polish top division and in the Conference League, as Jagiellonia Białystok went on a phenomenal run to the quarter-finals of Europe’s third-tier competition, narrowly losing out to eventual finalists Real Betis.
The 6’2” Poland U21 international impressed in all competitions for Jagellonia in the 2024/25 season, conceding only 52 goals in 47 games - a little more than one a game. His height is imperative to his game; SofaScore lists two of his biggest strengths being his handling and his ability to claim balls coming into the box, something Bernd Leno has arguably shown a lack of confidence in doing in recent months. His performances on the continent in the Conference League were particularly impressive, keeping a clean sheet in half the league-phase games and making 10 saves across two legs against Cercle Brugge in a narrow last-16 victory.
I made the point of Abramowicz’s age being an important factor, with Fulham looking to find a long-term successor to Leno. One aspect of his game that will have to improve is his ball-playing abilities, especially with the growing importance of goalkeepers to build-up play in the English game. His reliance on the ball is far lower in a Jagellonia side that dominates most games in the Polish Ekstraklasa, leading him to only make a single error leading to a goal last year. A pass accuracy of 76% last season would need working on, especially if you consider Leno was having a substantially larger number of touches per game than Abramowicz last season in league football, a further sign of the importance placed on a potential successor for Leno to be confident with the ball at his feet.
Jauoen Hadjam
At the start of last season, Ryan Sessegnon looked to be the man to deputise should any issues arise regarding Antonee Robinson’s availability at left-back. Alas, as the season went on, it became obvious that Sess’s best position to help Silva’s side would be further forward, impacting games in the final third. As positive as that coming-of-age run of form was for Sess, it once again leaves Fulham needing to strengthen their depth at left-back, especially with Jedi needing post-season surgery on a leg injury that had been niggling at him for the past few months.
Jaouem Hadjam looks the perfect fit to be on standby should Robinson ever struggle with fitness or suspension. The Algerian international’s interceptions, completed tackles, and duel success numbers are all relatively similar to Jedi’s for the 2024/25 season, while Hadjam shares Robinson’s desire to bomb forward and create too, creating more big chances over the season in fewer games than Antonee, who himself reached double figures in assists in the Premier League.
Hadjam is young, athletic and really starting to make a name for himself both for his country and now with Champions League experience too, after starting six of Young Boys’ league-phase games last season. The Algerian has already shown an ability to adapt to a higher level of football in a new country after moving from Paris FC in the summer of 2023 and quickly becoming a key cog of the Young Boys side that won the 2023/24 Swiss Super League title. With Swiss clubs tending not to generate huge fees for their biggest talents, Hadjam could prove to be a superb market opportunity that could add much needed depth to that part of the pitch.
Christos Zafeiris
What was evident to me last season is that we severely need a number eight in the middle of the park who can contribute to goals next season. Berge and Lukic were both fantastic in their own right throughout the year but with two assists and zero goals between the pair next season, we really cannot afford to have two of that profile of player in our side when clubs around us have goals coming from all over the pitch. Marco Silva tried solutions such as dropping Andreas deeper but nothing ever seemed to stick, so it may be time to look at other alternatives.
Zafeiris, already with nine senior Greece caps to his name since his debut in September, is a name that very much fits the bill. With 28 goal contributions over the previous three seasons across two different leagues, the Greek has impressed massively in both Norway and then for the past two seasons with Slavia Prague in Czechia. Last season was his personal best effort, with six goals and three assists for Slavia’s number 10. What most excites me about Zafeiris though, is how well he compliments Berge stylistically, and that’s backed up by last season’s statistics.
As the graphic shows, this pairing could work perfectly together. Berge would be the deep-lying midfielder of the two, controlling the centre of the park and winning the majority of his duels as he did so last season. However, with a more creative name next to him such as Zafeiris, there would be less worries over Berge’s lack of attacking input.
The Greek youngster excels in creative input compared to Berge and, as has been previously discussed, has shown that with his goal contributions over the output over the last couple of seasons. The stability of Berge behind would allow Zafeiris to take risks, dictate from the middle of the park and provide that crucial link between midfield and the forward line that we often missed put on in 2024/25.
Sindre Walle Egeli
Of everyone on this list, Walle Egeli is easily the one that would excite me most should Fulham make a move for the Norweigan. Walle Egeli is currently at FC Nordsjælland in the Danish Superliga, a club that has grown a reputation in recent years for developing incredible young talents and moving them onto larger reputation European clubs for substantial fees. A six-foot winger who plays primarily on the right and enjoys inverting onto his left foot? That screams a bit of Marco Silva if you ask me.
In the 2023/24 season, Walle Egeli played just 22 minutes across three games as he looked to find his way into senior football. So to see the young winger play 31 times in the league for Nordsjælland and produce 14 goal contributions shows just how rapid this young man could develop under the right guidance and in the right environment.
The stints Harry Wilson and Ryan Sessegnon had in the side when they were fit and during last season showed the effectiveness of direct, goalscoring inverted wingers in Silva’s system. Walle Egeli fits that bill. He strikes me as a player that, if we can develop him well, could be playing for a Champions League side and earning us an astronomical fee were the Whites to take a punt on the teenager and put in a bid while he’s still relatively unknown.
Dorgeles Nene
This is a similarly exciting prospect for Fulham this summer. Like Walle Egeli, Nene he is coming through at a club with a reputation in Europe for developing elite talent - RB Salzburg - and is also a winger who loves to invert and play his part in the final third. Where he differs to Walle Egeli is that not only does Nene come off the left onto his right foot rather than the other way round, he also has a willingness and the ability to play up front, which could prove handy in providing a third number nine option alongside the already established duo of Raul Jimenez and Rodrigo Muniz.
What would particularly excite me about Nene is his ability to adapt and contribute to a new side even at such a young age. After hitting 16 goal contributions in 30 games as a teenager for Liefering in the second tier in Austria as a teenager, he signed for Westerlo in the Belgian Super League and hit almost identical numbers in his one season there, which earned him his move to the Austrian giants. With a seasonal best of 19 goal contributions last season, Nene has continued to prove a mental strength and ability to throw himself into a new side and instantly make his mark.
Austrian football expert Dorian Suschter said of Nene: ‘‘He is renowned for his speed and technique’’ - certainly the sort of attributes Fulham are crying out for in wide areas.
Like Walle Egeli, Nene feels like the sort of player that Fulham could snap up now and be selling on for a tidy profit in the next few seasons, especially if you look at the fees commanded for some of Salzburg’s recent success stories. The likes of Erling Haaland, Benjamin Sesko, Dominik Szoboszlai, Karim Adeyemi etc all got the opportunity to shine on the European stage with Salzburg and all earned huge opportunities in the future thanks to it. Nene could without doubt be the next one on that list, and I’d love to see his story develop further at Craven Cottage.
Sign the Norwegian! You’ve sold me 100%.
Abramowicz is a really good goalkeeper. The price should be reasonable.