In just a few days, Fulham kick off the 2024-25 Premier League season away at Manchester United in Friday night football.
For the Whites faithful, there will be hopes of pushing for Europe, while for others another year of stability and perhaps a cup run will suffice.
Having seemingly got to grips with the English topflight, manager Marco Silva led the Cottagers to finishes of tenth and 13th, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup for the first time ever last season.
Fear set in when midfield maestro Joao Palhinha finally bade farewell to the Whites and joined Bayern Munich following consecutive Premier League campaigns impressing.
However, latest acquisition Emile Smith Rowe accompanied by a positive pre-season, has given rise to a wave of cautious optimism among Fulham fans.
That being said, heavy reliance on one starlet, again, will regress the Cottagers in the opposite direction.
VAVEL has you covered with everything you need to know about the West London outfit.
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Season Recap
Written by Sam Elliot
After a 10th-place finish the previous season, Fulham had what felt like a golden opportunity to take a giant leap forward in the Premier League with the gaps in their squad seemingly filled, before Saudi Arabian riches lured star striker Aleksander Mitrovic away from Craven Cottage just days until the 2023/24 season got underway.
The first weeks of the campaign were up and down form-wise as Marco Silva’s men found their footing in a second season since promotion.
A 3-0 defeat to local rivals Brentford marked evident struggles up top. Raul Jiminez and Carlos Vinicius had hardly been prolific in recent seasons, and it was clear that Mitrovic’s goals would need to be found elsewhere.
Rodrigo Muniz was a surprise performer into early 2024 as results began to pick up in West London - Fulham finally finding themselves on the right side of matches against mid-table opposition after several sloppy points had been dropped to their counterparts before Christmas.
Victory at Old Trafford thanks to a last-second Iwobi winner signalled an improved Fulham before defeat at Molineux Stadium just weeks later reset their progress.
Upturns in form like this defined the Cottager’s season, failing to get going since narrowly holding onto Silva the previous summer.
Just two wins in their final ten games meant finishing 2023/24 with a whimper after European dreams had become unrealistic. Even falling behind London rivals Crystal Palace after their late surge.
Fulham had to be thinking of what could have been this season, wishing for a repeat of another campaign that fizzled out at the backend but could have promised so much more.
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The transfer window so far
Written by Liam Soanes
Fulham fans began the transfer window hoping that reinforcements were on their way. Important players from the last two Premier League seasons were all but confirmed as leaving after their contracts ended.
Bobby De-Cordova Reid and Willian, both solid squad players, moved on from Craven Cottage. The biggest loss of all was Palhinha, who left for Bayern Munich for around £45 million.
Since the Palhinha sale though, new players have arrived at Craven Cottage. Ryan Sessegnon returned to his boyhood club after his contract at Tottenham expired.
Sessegnon, 24, left West London for North in 2019 after Fulham were relegated to the Championship, but he is now back in SW6.
The Cottagers have also been in the market with another North London club, Arsenal. Smith Rowe signed for Fulham this summer for up to £34 million, after wanting first-team football every week.
The winger, also 24, is a product of Arsenal’s academy but has struggled with injuries. He scored 10 Premier League goals in the 2021/22 season and is yet to hit those heights again.
Could Fulham be the move to revive a career with a lot of potential?
With Tosin Adarabioyo moving across SW6 to Chelsea, and club legend Tim Ream returning home to the USA, completing a transfer to Dean Smith's Charlotte FC, the Whites needed centre-back reinforcements.
Fulham acted quickly in the market, confirming the signing of Villarreal's Jorge Cuenca. Cuenca, coincidentally continued the theme of 24-year-olds, and was part of Barcelona's under-19 squad in 2019.
Last week links to Eagles defender Joachim Andersen emerged but were quashed by the Dane in an interview with Sky's Rob Dorsett. The Cottagers remain interested in Aston Villa's Diego Carlos.
Written by Rian Fearnehough
Marco Silva had a turbulent start to his time in England. He got relegated with Hull and then jumped from Watford to Everton, being seen as a traitor.
Since joining Fulham in 2021, Silva has managed to set up a solid side, helping the Cottagers regain and maintain their Premier League status.
The Whites still performed at a high-level last season despite losing their talisman Aleksander Mitrovic to Al Hilal, which shows just how good Silva is as a manager.
The 47 year old has a new assistant after Luis Boa Morte left the club to become the Guinea Bissau national team manager, Gonçalo Santos.
Santos left his managerial role at Casa Pia after guiding them to ninth place in the Primera Liga. Santos has a more defensive style, setting up in a 3-4-3, which could see Fulham adopt the system when looking to see out a game.
Silva is expected to stick with his trusty 4-2-3-1 system. Fulham play with high and wide fullbacks and tucked-in wingers, allowing for constant overlaps and a barrage of crosses into the box.
Defensively, the set up becomes a 4-4-2, with the attacking midfielder becoming the second striker, allowing the team to press from the front.
However, with Palhinha's departure, there could be a few tweaks depending on the profile of his replacement.
Written by Liam Soanes
Fulham’s summer signings have so far been the ones the fans have hoped for. With several players leaving the club, specific positions have been targeted in this window.
Jorge Cuenca, Emile Smith Rowe, and academy product Ryan Sessegnon have arrived at Craven Cottage since the departures of Tim Ream, Tosin Adarabioyo, Willian, and Bobby de Cordova Reid.
With these signings, and before any others, the Fulham starting 11 is likely to look like this:
GK: Bernd Leno - 10 clean sheets in 2023/24, nailed on goalkeeper.
RB: Timothy Castagne - one of the most consistent performers, close competition with Kenny Tete.
RCB: Issa Diop - prone to a mistake but the only right-footed centre-back left at the club before signings.
LCB: Calvin Bassey- very solid last season next to Tosin, left-footed, has a great friendship with Alex Iwobi.
LB: Antonee Robinson - Player of the Season last year, great overlapping runs, pace, and interceptions.
RDM: Harrison Reed - this will change after signings, consistent performer but Fulham need a João Palhinha replacement.
LDM: Sasa Lukic - also likely to change but an underrated part of the Fulham team, scored in a 3-0 win vs Tottenham last season.
LW: Alex Iwobi - could also play through the middle but has excellent dribbling and technical ability and will play everywhere across the attacking three.
AM: Emile Smith Rowe - Fulham’s record signing has looked brilliant in pre-season and could be a star player this year. He can also play off the left and will likely swap around with Iwobi.
RW: Adama Traore - before preseason this would have been Harry Wilson’s position but Adama has been electric in the build-up to 2024/25. He has blistering pace and offers something different to Iwobi and Smith Rowe. It will be a close competition with Wilson.
ST: Rodrigo Muniz- nailed-on striker, given the number nine for this season. He scored eight in eight towards the end of last season
Expected Finish
Written by Liam Soanes
Predicted finish: 13th
After two solid seasons back in the Premier League for Fulham, their third year will be aiming for more comfort in the middle of the pack, but also a quiet hope for an outside shot at Europe.
However, the summer has been a rebuild of sorts, with several key players leaving. Palhinha was a star player in Fulham’s side for the last two years, but when Bayern Munich came calling, he made his dream move.
With financial fair play looming over a number of clubs, the £45 million Fulham received for him may have been short-term pain for long-term gain.
Clubs around Fulham are also strengthening though, and the teams expected to finish between 9th and 16th are all hard to predict.
Crystal Palace finished last season very strongly under Oliver Glasner, Brighton does not have European football anymore, Wolves and West Ham look strong.
The promoted clubs do not seem to have enough firepower to challenge the midtable positions and the likes of Nottingham Forest and Brentford will be worried about the drop.
With recent signings and the strong tactician Marco Silva at the helm, Fulham will be happy with another midtable finish and will be hoping to push on for more. Safely staying up, but maybe not quite a top-eight side just yet.
