How Fulham’s shrewd recruitment has fuelled their rise

Back in the summer, as Fulham looked ahead to this campaign, the club’s leading figures were braced for turbulence. Change was in the air at Craven Cottage, and the key decision-makers knew that those crucial off-season months would not be easy to navigate.

For those involved, it was a daunting prospect. This was not simply another transfer window in which they had to identify players to improve Marco Silva’s squad, but also a period in which they would have to cope with the loss of a series of hugely important individuals.

João Palhinha, their most impressive player over the past two seasons? Gone, to Bayern Munich. Tosin Adarabioyo, their commanding centre-back? Gone, to Chelsea. Willian, arguably their most effective attacker? Gone, to Olympiacos.

Tim Ream, an outstanding servant for almost a decade? Gone, to the United States. Bobby De Cordova-Reid, a forward who had played 68 of Fulham’s last 76 Premier League games? Gone, to Leicester City.

Between them, those five players had made almost 800 appearances for Fulham. They were leaders of the squad, with valuable Premier League know-how and a strong grasp of Silva’s tactics. It is hardly a surprise, then, that some at the club were a little anxious about how they might be replaced.

But Fulham have not only survived these drastic changes. As it turns out, they have thrived in spite of them. Silva’s side came into this weekend in sixth place in the Premier League, emboldened by a genuine sense that European football could be a legitimate target.

How have they done it? Fulham’s success is a triumph of coaching – under Silva they are organised, aggressive and inventive – and of intelligent recruitment. Emile Smith Rowe, Joachim Andersen and Sander Berge cost around £90 million in total, including add-ons, in the summer. So far, that has looked like superb business.

Club show faith in players neglected by rivals

The excellence of Smith Rowe, as Fulham’s club-record signing, has generated the most headlines. This weekend he faces Arsenal, his former team. Alex Iwobi is another Arsenal academy graduate who is shining, while a third, Reiss Nelson, is impressing on loan. In goal there is the reliable Bernd Leno, also a former Arsenal player.

These former Arsenal stars, and indeed the likes of Andreas Pereira (once of Manchester United), Harry Wilson (formerly of Liverpool) and Adama Traore (who started at Barcelona) provide evidence of what Fulham have done so well in recent years: taking undervalued, underrated players from bigger teams, and providing them with a platform.

Fulham are operating differently to the likes of Brentford and Brighton, considered by most to be recruitment experts, by often looking up in the market, instead of down. Rather than scouring distant leagues for hidden gems, Fulham have shown faith in players who did not receive it at larger clubs.

Silva has bought into data-driven model

Fulham’s recruitment efforts are led by sporting director Tony Khan, the son of owner Shahid, in collaboration with Silva. Their willingness to work alongside each other is regarded internally as a crucial reason for the recent success in the market, with Silva far more attuned to Khan’s data analytics than his predecessors.

It is understood that Silva also produces his own scouting reports, to be tallied with the club’s data, and that he can be a persuasive figure when explaining his ideas to potential recruits. Smith Rowe, for example, is believed to have been especially enthused by the prospect of playing for Silva, as Fulham battled with Crystal Palace for his signature.

Khan and Silva only target players who are willing to push themselves to their limits. Not least because Silva is understood to be working his squad exceptionally hard in training. If they cannot handle those physical demands, they simply will not fit in. Signings are made only if they score highly on the club’s data models while also conforming to Silva’s vision.

Although it was not Fulham’s intention to lose all of Tosin, Ream, De Cordova-Reid, Willian and Palhinha this summer, there was an expectation that significant change was possible. With regard to Palhinha, it was always seen as likely that Bayern would come back for a player they so nearly signed in 2023.

Fulham therefore planned ahead, buying Serbian midfielder Sasa Lukic in January and effectively giving him six months to get up to speed. The acquisition of Berge from Burnley, meanwhile, was the end result of years of admiration. The midfielder has ranked highly on Fulham’s analytics for many seasons.

After five consecutive campaigns of bouncing between the Premier League and Championship, Fulham now have that most precious of qualities: stability. This is their third straight year of top-flight football and they are developing the squad in a sustainable way: in the last two summers, they have generated a combined fee of more than £100 million for Palhinha, Jay Stansfield and Aleksandar Mitrovic.

The supporters, too, can sense that the club is on firmer ground than it has been for some time. When Fulham struck two late goals to defeat Brentford in November, long-serving captain Tom Cairney said it was the loudest he had ever heard Craven Cottage.

After such a thrilling start to the season, the Fulham fans are no longer worrying about what might be happening beneath them on the table. The old fear has been replaced by excitement as Fulham’s supporters, executives and players wonder what might be possible in the months to come.