Grading Fulham’s 2024/25 signings

It’s that time of the year again ladies and gentlemen! The dust has settled on another Premier League season, with Fulham breaking their record points total of 54 points to finish in 11th place. It’s been a mixed season as far as I’m concerned, with as many highs as lows. We were left wondering what could’ve been, although Crystal Palace’s FA Cup win to deny eighth place a UEFA Conference League berth softens the blow slightly.

Following the departure of key players such as Joao Palhinha, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, and Tosin, the need for new recruits was apparent 12 months ago. Over the course of two transfer windows Fulham brought in seven players, but how did they all fare?

Joachim Andersen

When news suddenly broke last summer that Fulham were going to re-sign Danish central defender Joachim Andersen from London rivals Crystal Palace there was a mixture of elation from the Fulham contingent and confusion from the wider footballing scene. Why would Andersen make a sideways move? Is €29.5m (all values based on TransferMarkt) too much for a now 28-year-old?. If I’m being entirely frank I think that the Eagles got the better end of the deal replacing him with a younger and (dare I say) better Maxence Lacroix. Don’t get me wrong, Andersen is a more than capable defender for a mid-table Premier League side but at times this season he certainly flattered to deceive while at times showcased his defensive prowess and long-range passing ability.

It was hardly a bad season for the Dane, but 0.94 tackles per 90 put him in the bottom 10% of defenders in Europe, 6.57 clearances put him in the top 12% and 70.13 passes put him in the top 15% so a mixed bag really. Don’t get me wrong, Fulham are a better side for having Andersen in it, but I think he and Fulham fans will feel that at times this season he could’ve offered more.

Grade: C+

Jorge Cuenca

Similarly to Andersen, Jorge Cuenca’s signing came out of nowhere right at the start of the window for €6.7m from Spanish side Villarreal. One of the cries from the fanbase last summer was to bring the overall age of the squad down and replacing Tim Ream with a now 25-year-old left-footed central defender with experience playing in a competitive La Liga was encouraging. Minutes have been few and far between for the Spaniard this season, with just 351 coming in the Premier League and while he’s had to bide his time, when called upon he’s looked solid.

We saw what type of player Cuenca is and can be during our 2-2 draw away at Liverpool back in December. Chucked in at the deep end he could’ve easily sank, he instead swum with confidence in a back line which withstood constant pressure in Merseyside. Cuenca is the type of player that you would want and need in a mid-table Premier League side as a rotational option. Aware of his role, young enough to develop into a mainstay but also dependable enough to slot in when needed. For his price I have no complaints.

Grade: B

Ryan Sessegnon

When Ryan Sessegnon returned in the summer it felt like a serious pinch-me moment. One of our own coming home after a tricky spell at Tottenham Hotspur looking to reignite his personal flame and find his feet again in the top-flight of English football. Similarly to Cuenca it took a while for Sessegnon to get a run of games, partly down to injuries and partly down to the form of both Antonee Robinson and Alex Iwobi during the first-half of the season. But when that chance came, boy did he take it.

When his first goal back went in at Molineux there was a sense of elation and relief among Fulham fans that I think we haven’t had over a player in a while. Marry that up with his goal at the Hammersmith End and winner at Southampton, our boy is well and truly back. Sessegnon is here to stay; I personally feel his one-on-one ability is up there with the best at this club and if he can continue to develop under Marco Silva, he could flourish into one of our best players. It’s even better when you consider he came in on a free!

Grade: A – signing of the season

Sander Berge

When Joao Palhinha left in the summer it was obvious that Fulham were going to sign someone to attempt to fill that Portuguese-sized hole and after murmurings of Vini Souza and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg
we finally had our man in the shape of Norwegian midfielder Sander Berge. The now 27-year-old impressed at Sheffield United before dipping slightly at Burnley meaning we picked him up at the relatively good price of €23.55m. It wasn’t the most glamorous of starts for Berge after a game to forget against Aston Villa but like most of Marco Silva’s signings he grew and flourished into a dependable holding midfielder whose passing ability was superior to Palhinha’s.

A 91.5% pass completion puts Berge in the top 3% of midfielders and between him and Sasa Lukic (to reference the hit film Money Ball) we certainly replaced Joao Palhinha’s tackling ability in the aggregate. My only grievance with Berge (and the midfield in general) is the lack of goalscoring we’ve seen this season. During the first season in the Premier League between Palhinha, Harrison Reed and Andreas Pereira we picked up a good portion of goals from deep but this has dwindled and dwindled down to just the two goals from the centre of the park (both coming off the bench from Tom Cairney).

Again, this isn’t necessarily a Berge issue and more of a general Fulham issue. Nevertheless, a solid replacement for the now Bayern Munich midfielder who still has the years on his side to continue to shine and grow at Fulham

Grade: B

Emile Smith Rowe

Emile, Emile, Emile – where do we start with you? This felt like a serious statement signing last summer breaking our record transfer fee and signing Smith Rowe from Arsenal for €31.8m to give us that energy and cutting edge that felt lacking at times last season in attacking midfield. I don’t want to be too critical of Smith Rowe because there is obviously a fantastic footballer there and we saw glimpses of his brilliance particularly away at Crystal Palace and Everton, the problem is it felt those moments were few and far between.

Being in the top 1% for pass completion but bottom 29% for assists summarises just what we get from Smith Rowe on a regular basis. It feels as this though he doesn’t even believe in himself at times playing the safe option nine times out 10, not offering to show for the ball and feeling like he’s invisible in games. Again, there is obviously a player there but even by his own admittance this hasn’t been a season he’s been overly fond of and hopefully we get to see more of the Hale End Smith Rowe next season, six goals and three assists isn’t necessarily a terrible returning but it just feels like he could do way more.

Grade: C

Reiss Nelson

This one feels incredibly difficult to write. Reiss Nelson signed on loan from Arsenal late in the day with Fulham desperately in need of reinforcements out wide and we saw during his limited minutes the ability he possess. 2.39 successful take-ons and 11.57 progressive passes shows the quality the now 25-year-old has but sadly for him and Fulham his season got cut short early in December following an injury at home to Brighton.

We never saw him again, which was a shame because I liked what I saw from him. Will we go back in for him in the summer? I’m not sure. He’s someone who can certainly improve our side but this injury has really knocked him back; it’s a real real shame which will unfortunately damage his grade over the course of the season.

Grade: D

Willian

I was in a Belgian duty free when the news dropped on deadline day that Willian was going to be the answer to our prayers for a wide player in January. I audibly laughed. Replacing a 34-year-old Willian with a 35-year-old Willian and then replacing that version with a 36-year-old Willian who had a torrid time in Greece sums up just how laughable our recruitment policy can be at times, but alas that’s where we were.

I really don’t want this to come across as an attack on Willian who was a good servant to the club for two seasons, but this felt like one campaign too many for the Brazilian. While he obviously still has the technical ability to hang in the Premier League, he has lost a few yards of pace and was often ineffective during cameos off the bench where we often were desperate for someone to make an impact. We felt really close to something in January and some real quality could’ve got us over the line, alas it wasn’t to be and I think it’s pretty clear we will be faring farewell to Willian this summer.

Grade: E

Overall summary

A real mixed bag for Fulham this season that I feel will be defined by our inability to improve the squad in January. I feel that generally those signed in the summer have done a good job at not only establishing Fulham but pushing us to that Premier League record points total but we were really close to something and just seemed to stand still in the winter window. The usual story of leaving things too late and frantically kicking into gear at the final hour reared it’s ugly head once again and maybe in another life we’d have made those signings to push even further. It wasn’t to be.

Grade: C