Alvaro Arbeloa joined Fulham with a vision: a view to integrate youth with experience, and while our new gaffer’s project is still in the prototype phase there’s one clear winner so far: Josh King - and with good reason.
We all know Arbeloa is a strong believer in blooding youngsters - it’s his main personality trait a this point. Cesar Palacios and Manuel Angel both have Alvaro to thank for their respective Los Blancos debuts, but it isn’t all about introducing the next generation to the masses - championing their reputations is also just as important. And that’s where King emerges into the limelight.
With a new boss coming through the door for Marco Silva – the man who entrusted Josh to make his mark against Birmingham City in 2024 – Arbeloa’s arrival could’ve could’ve changed things for King, but sure enough - the only direction of travel for our midfield pocket rocket is to the stars.
There have never been any doubts over Josh’s ability; he’s held in the highest regard at the parks of Motspur and St. George, but reputations don’t always account for everything when a new manager’s appointed and our 19-year-old wasn’t about to get off on the wrong foot.
He was invited to train with Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup camp during the summer; he’s undoubtedly destined for a Three Lions call-up and he only narrowly missed out on England’s October meetings, but he will continue to be in contention because Arbeloa’s system is tailor-made for his punchy mediapunta style.
With a license to meddle, hustle and mesmerise, King is no shrinking violet; he isn’t scared of his own shadow and as Alvaro inherited him when his confidence was at its peak, his potential has been harnessed to the fullest and he is now the first name on Fulham’s team sheet.
The thing is, you cannot associate Josh with inferiority or subordinance. He had to prove his worth to a manager who wasn’t particularly accommodating to youth players and he did so, emphatically. He had to dislodge multi-million-pound signings such as Emile Smith Rowe and now it’s clear, he is streets ahead of the Hale End grad.
King is designed for close encounters, the narrow yards between a defender’s studs and open space and Arbeloa’s seemingly plotting a plan that has King, his crowning jewel, at the forefront of it all.
Diminutive but by no means weak, adventurous but not wasteful, Josh’s daringness on the ball has us gripped. His dedication to improvement and progression is a defining non-negotiable to this new-look Fulham we’re all curious of and King’s natural ethic and attitude will ultimately set the standard for the entire collective, budding or otherwise.
SW6’s stellar starlet is evolving. He’s a model trainer and performer with a humble head on his shoulders, A teenager, yes, but he isn’t green to the weight and pressure of the Premier League, nor is he daunted by stages and stadiums that would even leave men in their fifties quaking in fear, he relishes each challenge and he sidesteps every obstacle with one driving objective: to take Fulham to the next level. Why wouldn’t Alvaro want to tap into this willingness?
Arbeloa may have persuaded a very talented Real Madrid crop to follow him to the banks of the Thames, and that also must be commended, but of all the players he had to recognise as integral - despite the hand-picked signings and big-money moves - King was at the top of the list, and his on-field return to date -albeit five games into the season - demonstrates why he is Fulham’s shining light amid one or two dark clouds.
Josh is an FPL cheat code, a fancied should-be England option, a poster boy for the club’s revered development system and just as much of an advocate for Arbeloa’s programme as Alvaro is for his ingenious number 10’s influence.
Hopeful understudies should study King and how he conducts himself. Chibby Nwoko, Jayden Quashie, Macauley Zepa and all of those vying to be noticed by Arbeloa need to stay hungry, prepared and above all else, disciplined, because they can certainly follow suit in this revamped Fulham set-up. A path has been paved and now it is up to them to tread it regularly, rather than fleetingly.
This partnership and understanding between Josh and Alvaro simply must work because if it does, we’re going to witness football that’s exciting, bold, risky and defiant, and King will be the proud torch bearer.
