Four games into the new Premier League campaign and Marco Silva’s Fulham have made a fair start, with four points from four, a particularly useful return when you consider two of those games were against Arsenal and Manchester City.
The £45 million cash received on the transfer of Aleksandar Mitrovic to Al-Hilal has been re-invested as Silva has brought in three forward players and two defenders to strengthen his hand.
While we haven’t seen a goal from any of them yet, and we have seen a red card, there is enough to see that they can all make a big contribution as the Cottagers aim to build on last season’s tenth place finish.
Alex Iwobi: from Everton for £22 million
Almost half of the Mitrovic cash was splashed on the Arsenal academy graduate Iwobi who, at 27 years of age, is in the prime of his career.
A fast and skilful player, the Nigerian sometimes struggled to fulfil the promise he showed at the Emirates once he had transferred to a dogged Everton side, where he scored just six goals in 123 appearances.
He was the Toffees most creative player, playing a big part in their successful survival campaigns and, in a more expansive side, Iwobi can flourish and we may see a return to his Arsenal form in the White of Fulham.
Raul Jimenez: from Wolves for £5.5 million
A more like-for-like replacement for Mitrovic, Jimenez is a strong centre forward and, at 6’3”, he’s a powerful presence.
With 31 goals in 101 games for a strong Mexico side, the 32-year-old is proven quality, and the younger forward players can learn a lot from him.
While playing for Wolves, Jimenez suffered a fractured skull in a clash with Arsenal’s David Luiz in 2020 and was out for the campaign and that has limited his progress over the past two seasons.
He’s the second Mexican to sign for Fulham after Carlos Salcido, and Jimenez made his debut in the opening day 1-0 win over Everton, where his strong running and clever hold up play helped the Cottagers to see out the victory.
Adama Traore: from Wolves on a free
One of the most exciting and frustrating players in football has also joined from Wolves. Traore has pace to burn and his direct running has tormented defences in the Premier League, but his end product has been inconsistent to say the least.
Frequently finding himself in goal scoring positions, Traore has all too often fired high and/or wide and, remarkably, scored just 10 goals in 157 games for Wolves.
If he can add composure in front of goal to his undoubted flair, Traore can be a great asset and he’ll provide bags of Premier League 2023 highlights.
Barcelona took him on loan last season, so there is definitely a player there. At 27 years of age, it’s time for the Spain international to really shine.
Calvin Bassey: from Ajax for £18 million
He was sent off in Fulham’s impressive 2-2 draw away to Arsenal, and that meant he missed the match with Manchester City. But Cottagers fans are ready to see more of Bassey.
The 23-year-old Nigerian international can play at left-back or on the left side of a centre-back partnership, and he has impressed throughout his short career at Scottish club Glasgow Rangers and then at Ajax, which persuaded Silva to pay up for the star.
Bassey was a product of Leicester City’s youth system, and he is assured on the ball, strong in the tackle, and possesses good pace for a big defender.
His passion is in no doubt, and if he can channel that properly, then Bassey will be a big player for the Cottagers and his full-blooded displays are sure to make him a fan favourite.
Timothy Castagne: from Leicester City for £15 million
Fulham have Leicester to thank for their other defencive recruit as 27-year-old right- back Castagne impressed in three seasons with the Foxes, but decided to move on when they were relegated to the Championship at the end of last season.
A Belgian international with 33 caps, Castagne is a cultured operator, making his name at Genk and then Atalanta before arriving in the Premier League in 2020.
Equally comfortable in defence or supporting his attack, Castagne has superb positional sense and a great range of passing, and he will pop up with the odd goal as well, scoring twice for Belgium and five times each for Atalanta and Leicester City.
Like these other four signings, Castagne can have a big impact at Craven Cottage.
Just four games into the new campaign, the Premier League 2023 betting odds have six teams at lower odds to take the drop than SBOTOP’s principal partners.
And with the quality Silva has brought in, another mid–table position is well within Fulham’s range.
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