Fulham have now sealed their return to the Premier League for a third time in the past five seasons, and boss Marco Silva will now be considering what transfers will keep his side up.
The Cottagers took differing stances in the first market after their promotions via the play-offs in 2018 and 2020. Scott Parker only paid a fee for six players two summers ago, while adding six stars on loan. Anthony Knockaert was the big-ticket arrival that year at £15m.
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Slavisa Jokanovic was much more flush with the Craven Cottage outfit’s cash after sealing their promotion in 2018. He also signed 12 players, with a fee spent on seven and five loan deals. But Fulham’s net spend came in at negative-£110.5m as they only sold one player.
Only five of Jokanovic’s signings remain in west London, while six of Parker’s transfers are still in Silva’s Fulham ranks. But just because they are at Craven Cottage does not ensure they still play. So, where are those who have left, and how are those who remain fairing?
Anthony Knockaert – Fulham
Parker bet big on Knockaert being the one to keep Fulham in the Premier League following their promotion in 2020. The 30-year-old had helped the Cottagers win the Championship play-offs after joining on loan the prior summer. But he would return to the second-tier.
Nottingham Forest signed the forward on loan after he failed to feature over Fulham’s first four top-flight fixtures. He has again struggled to play in west London this term, with Silva affording the Frenchman just four league outings thus far, in which he has not scored yet.
Harrison Reed – Fulham
Harrison Reed was another loanee who turned their transfer permanent after helping to obtain Fulham’s 2020 promotion. The former Southampton midfielder cost £6m, and was a key part of Parker’s plans with 31 Premier League games and has remained key for Silva.
Terence Kongolo – Fulham
Huddersfield Town charged Fulham £4m to turn Terence Kongolo’s loan move permanent in the summer 2020 transfer market. But the Dutchman has still only played four matches in all competitions – and none since April 2021 – for the Cottagers after a string of injuries.
Kenny Tete – Fulham
Kenny Tete left Lyon for west London in a £3m deal for his first taste of English football in 2020. He would enjoy consistent chances under Parker with 22 Premier League games and 18 starts. Yet a peripheral role has followed under Silva, with just 12 starts over 16 games.
Ola Aina – Torino
Ola Aina honed his trade in Chelsea’s academy before a transfer to Torino in 2019 after a year on loan. But a year later, he was back in west London on loan at Fulham and would feature across Parker’s backline on 33 occasions, including 31 Premier League fixtures.
The Nigerian returned to Torino at the end of his loan spell but after a strong start to the season, he is out of favour. The 25-year-old has only played twice since the start of 2022.
Mario Lemina – OGC Nice
Mario Lemina has bounced around Europe in recent years after failing to establish himself at Southampton under Ralph Hasenhuttl. The Gabon midfielder joined Galatasaray on loan in 2019/20, Fulham in 2020/21 and is now at OGC Nice after a permanent move last year.
The 28-year-old made 30 appearances at Craven Cottage, including in 28 Premier League games. His efforts saw Nice pay the Saints £4.5m, while Lemina is now a mainstay at the Ligue 1 outfit with 31 outings across all competitions – starting 22 – so far this season.
Antonee Robinson – Fulham
Fulham seized on Wigan Athletic’s administration and following relegation to League One to sign Antonee Robinson for £2m in 2020. The American would feature 28 times during his first Premier League season, and has played in 33 Championship games so far this term.
Ademola Lookman – Leicester City
RB Leipzig paid Everton £22.5m for Ademola Lookman in 2019, yet he was back in England a year later on loan with Fulham. The forward would feature in 34 Premier League games, score four and assist four goals under Parker. But their relegation ensured he did not stay.
Now, Lookman is still in the Premier League on loan at Leicester City, who have an option to buy. Leicestershire Live report Brendan Rodgers will decide on the clause at the end of the season, with the winger a hit with the Foxes boss and King Power Stadium fanbase.
Tosin Adarabioyo – Fulham
Tosin Adarabioyo cost Fulham £8m when joining from Manchester City two years ago. His efforts under Parker then drew Premier League interest, with The Athletic noting last May that Arsenal were considering raiding Craven Cottage following the club’s relegation.
However, the centre-half stayed, been a fixture of Silva’s backline, and has kept top-flight clubs on alert. The Times reported that Newcastle were now mulling a move this January.
Joachim Andersen – Crystal Palace
Joachim Andersen partnered Adarabioyo in Parker’s backline while on loan at Fulham from Lyon in 2020/21. He returned to the Ligue 1 outfit following his temporary stay concluding, but returned to London with Crystal Palace for €22m (£18m) plus €5m (£4m) in add-ons.
Alphonse Areola – West Ham United
Alphonse Areola was one of the real stars of Fulham’s last Premier League season while on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. He produced some remarkable performances between the sticks, to be named as the Cottagers’ Player of the Season ahead of Anderson and Reed.
His performances saw West Ham United secure a loan deal with PSG that includes a £15m option. But the Frenchman has only made one of his 16 Irons outings in the top-flight. So, TEAMtalk now note Fulham are confident of re-signing Areola as one of Silva’s top targets.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – Chelsea
Ruben Loftus-Cheek only played nine games for Chelsea across all competitions during the 2019/20 season. He would feature 32 times on loan for Fulham, though, and returned to Stamford Bridge the following the summer to obtain a sporadic role under Thomas Tuchel.
Jean Michael Seri – Fulham
Jean Michael Seri was one of Jokanovic’s big-name arrivals after securing Fulham’s play-off promotion in 2018. He paid Nice £25m, but the Ivorian could not prevent their immediate return to the second-tier. Even though he started 27 of their 32 games in the engine room.
Dropping down to the second-tier saw Seri jump ship and join Bordeaux on loan. But after the Cottagers bounced back under Parker, he was back. And despite suffering his second drop in three seasons, Seri stayed and has helped Silva to secure their automatic return.
Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa – Napoli
Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa did not stay at Fulham to help Silva seal promotion, though. After a £30m move in 2018, the Cameroonian joined Villarreal on loan during the 2019/20 term and has spent this season at Napoli. He has also been a regular for the Serie A side.
Napoli also obtained a €15m (£12.5m) option to buy the midfielder, who has played in 25 games – including five Europa League ties. Azzurri sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli also stated earlier this April, via TuttoMercatoWEB: “Our will is to redeem him. We will see.”
Aleksandar Mitrovic – Fulham
Mitrovic has now helped fire Fulham to three promotions into the Premier League since he left Newcastle in January 2018. The Cottagers initially struck a loan deal, before paying the Magpies £22m upon promotion. He has scored a massive 40 goals in 40 games this term.
Alfie Mawson – Fulham
Alfie Mawson set Fulham back £15m when leaving Swansea City for Jokanovic’s side in the summer 2018 market. But he only featured in 15 Premier League games that season and spent the first half of the 2020/21 term back in the Championship on loan with Bristol City.
His experience of the English second-tier has not been enough to work his way into Silva’s side, though. The centre-half has only played eight times this season, including in just six Championship matches. He could now leave for free when his contract expires this June.
Joe Bryan – Fulham
Jokanovic spent £6m to sign Joe Bryan from Bristol City to further strengthen his Cottagers ranks in 2018. He has now amassed 114 games for the club, but has only played 17 times – 13 in the Championship, while starting just 11 – so far this season while offering one assist.
Fabri – Fulham
Fabri was another of Jokanovic’s lower-cost transfers in 2018, and remains at Fulham four years after his £5m arrival from Besiktas. But the Spaniard has not featured at all so far this term, did not play a second last season, and also spent 2019/20 on loan at RCD Mallorca.
The 34-year-old also only played four games for the Spanish side. Yet that figure is double his career Cottagers total of just two outings after four seasons. The goalkeeper also let in five goals over his two Premier League games between the sticks in west London in ‘18/19.
Maxime Le Marchand – RC Strasbourg Alsace
Maxime Le Marchand cost Fulham £7.5m to sign from Nice in 2018, but returned to France with RC Strasbourg Alsace last summer for free. The defender had spent the previous four months on loan with Royal Antwerp, and has so far only played eight times for Strasbourg.
Andre Schurrle – Retired
Andre Schurrle rocked up at Craven Cottage in 2018 on loan from Borussia Dortmund as a 2014 World Cup winner, who had previously scored 14 goals in 65 games for Chelsea. But despite his Cottagers career starting well with five goals by December, it would fall apart.
The German winger would only feature three times between February and the end of the season. He then returned to BVB, only to join Spartak Moscow on loan for the 2019/20 term. It would prove to be his final year in football, before retiring at the age of only 29.
Calum Chambers – Aston Villa
Calum Chambers was another of Jokanovic’s loanees with Premier League experience at Arsenal, Southampton and Middlesbrough. The Englishman also had relegation experience from his spell at Boro, but the centre-half still impressed from the Cottagers engine room.
Yet his Craven Cottage adventure did not lead to a substantial presence at the Emirates Stadium in the following years. The Gunners would eventually let Chambers leave and join Aston Villa for free this January, as his £50k-a-week contract was set to expire this year.
Sergio Rico – RCD Mallorca
Sergio Rico has bounced back and forth between Spain and France since his loan transfer with Fulham in 2018/19. The Cottagers hired the goalkeeper from Sevilla and he keept five clean sheets over 29 Premier League games. He then joined Paris Saint-Germain on loan.
PSG then purchased Rico in 2020 for €6m (£5m), yet he is now on loan with Mallorca. The 28-year-old joined the La Liga side in January and has let in 20 goals in 11 league games.
Luciano Vietto – Al-Shabab
Luciano Vietto is on his third club since spending 2018/19 on loan at Fulham from Atletico Madrid. After scoring one goal in 20 Premier League games, he joined Sporting Lisbon that summer but lasted just a year in Portugal before then moving to Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal.
One-and-a-half years later, the Argentine was on the move again joining Al-Shabab on loan this January. He has so far struck two goals in six games from 13 for the Riyadh outfit.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah – Bayer Leverkusen
Timothy Fosu-Mensah had sought to build on his 2017/18 loan at Crystal Palace when he joined Fulham on loan from Manchester United in 2018. But the Dutchman only featured in 12 Premier League matches in west London after missing large parts of the campaign.
The defender returned to Old Trafford for another one-and-half years before joining Bayer Leverkusen for £2m in January 2021. Yet a switch to Germany has only returned 15 outings in all competitions, including a mere six Bundesliga matches all as a substitute this season.
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