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Thursday fulham Stuff - 19/08/21...

Started by WhiteJC, August 18, 2021, 08:48:39 AM

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WhiteJC

Silva: 'Seri wants to stay'

Marco Silva believes Jean Michael Seri wants to stay with Fulham and feels the midfielder can play a pivotal part in the club's promotion push.

The Ivorian international had been heavily linked with a summer move away from Craven Cottage but came into the starting line-up for Fulham's thumping win at Huddersfield on Saturday. Seri delivered another fine display from a deep-lying central midfield role as the Whites beat Millwall last night and Silva believes the former Nice man can be a real asset in the Championship as he gains more match sharpness.

The Fulham head coach told his post-match press conference at the New Den last night:

"Since I arrived at the club I have spoken with him and I was clear with him. He wants to stay and hasn't told me anything otherwise.

He had a very good pre-season and has really impressed me in all the games he has played so far. He is still working hard to keep his place in the starting 11 but I am really happy with him. In the next few games he will improve his physical condition, he needs to play 90 minutes regularly to become fitter."



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2021/08/silva-seri-wants-to-stay/

WhiteJC

Fulham: Romano drops transfer claim on Rodrigo Muniz

Fulham look to have completed a deal to bring Rodrigo Muniz to Craven Cottage.

What's the talk?

That's according to a claim made by Fabrizio Romano, with the journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that Fulham and Flamengo have reached an agreement regarding the fee of the centre-forward, believed to be around €8m (£6.8m) plus a 25% sell-on clause.

Romano went on to state that the deal has now been completed, suggesting that an announcement from the club regarding the signing of the 20-year-old should come very soon.

In his tweet, the journalist said: "Paperwork signed between Fulham and Flamengo for Rodrigo Muniz, deal completed. Muniz will join Fulham for €8m + 25% future sale percentage to Flamengo."

Music to the ears of fans

While Fulham's interest in Muniz has been well documented over the last few weeks, it appeared as if a deal for the striker could have been slipping away from the Cottagers, with Middlesbrough reported to be attempting to pounce on the west London side's lack of action in finalising a deal for the Brazilian.

However, Romano's latest comments all but confirming the signing of Muniz are sure to be music to the ears of the Craven Cottage faithful, as the younger looks to be a player with a significant amount of potential.

Indeed, over his nine Serie A appearances for Flamengo so far this season, the £2.7m-rated man has scored three goals, provided one assist and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 0.6 key passes and taking 2.4 shots per game.

These metrics have seen the 20-year-old earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.16, ranking him as the club's joint eighth-best performer in the Brazilian top flight.

As such, it would very much seem as if Muniz is not only a player who could play an influential role in Fulham's future but also one who clearly boasts the ability to provide the club's promotion hopes with a significant boost this season – something that will delight Marco Silva and fans of the club alike.



https://www.footballfancast.com/fulham-fc-transfer-rumours/fulham-transfer-news-marco-silva-tony-khan-rodrigo-muniz-flamengo-fabrizio-romano-the-championship

WhiteJC

Fulham at full throttle look formidable

In previewing last night's trip to south east London, I suggest we'd have a greater idea about the Championship credentials of Marco Silva's side once we had seen Fulham face the unique challenge of Millwall away. It took only eight minutes at the New Den for this new-look outfit to disdainfully dispense with the notion that the five-star display at Huddersfield was a flash in the pan.

Of course, the nimble and intelligent Fabio Carvalho was to the fore. The news this morning that Fulham are confident of tying their teenage playmaker to a longer contract was almost as thrilling as his peerless performance last night. There was an electric burst down the left to set up Aleksandar Mitrovic's second goal in as many games and firm finish five minutes later to match his magnificent run and put clear water between the sides. Suddenly, the Den didn't feel quite so fearsome. His nod to Ryan Sessegnon's iconic ear-cupping celebration reminded us all of the exuberance of youth.

Some of Fulham's approach play was utterly mesmerising. One-touch football played with verve, zest and at a high tempo appears to be the order of the day under the new head coach. The contrast with Silva's predecessor couldn't be starker. Where Scott Parker deployed a handbrake to stay in matches, the new man revs his team up to full throttle to finish them. The fluidity, movement and sense of adventure makes this iteration of Fulham look formidable – rather like the Tigana and Jokanovic sides of yesteryear.

You can tell the transformation by considering the cases of some of the squad's forgotten men. Neeskens Kebano was exiled to Middlesbrough last season and wasn't expected to feature prominently in this campaign after Fulham added Harry Wilson this summer. But the Congolese winger appears reborn under Silva, having forced his way into the new head coach's thoughts following a strong pre-season. Kebano buzzed brightly down the left flank against Millwall, drifting infield and finding Carvalho expertly for the second goal, and was unfortunate not to add one of his own. He'll be difficult to displace on this evidence.

Then there's the re-emergence of Jean Michael Seri, a man most Fulham fans had consigned to the scrapheap long before the summer. He followed up a fine – if understated – display at Huddersfield with another exemplary exhibition of how to play the 'number six' role last night. There was an effortlessness about the way he created passing angles to keep possession and he took the ball on the half turn brilliantly, rendering Millwall's attempts at pressing moot. Seri wasn't shy of sticking a foot in himself and looked genuinely delighted when applauding the away fans afterwards. Perhaps a fabulous final act to his Fulham career isn't as far fetched as we thought.

There's definitely a different vibe about this Fulham side. Their first instinct appears to play the ball forward and look to hurt the opposition. The way Josh Onomah, another player who has seized his opportunity to stake a claim with injuries opening up spots in central midfield, surged towards the penalty area despite being repeatedly fouled illustrated that Fulham were now playing on the front foot. No longer is it possession for possession's sake – and the Whites looked liable to score in every attack during a flawless first half. That Silva, Mitrovic and Carvalho have all rued a lack of ruthlessness in the immediate aftermath of victory demonstrates a hunger to make best use of their attacking resources – and bodes well for what will still be a long and arduous Championship campaign.

You can see that the confidence is already flowing. Tim Ream's ridiculous Cryuff turn away from Benik Afobe was testament to that. But Silva quickly made clear that there is still plenty of hard work ahead. It was criminal that Fulham's eighty minutes of dominance were followed by a nerve-shredding finale after Afobe inadvertently offered Millwall a lifeline. Paulo Gazzaniga's rather crazed goalkeeping in stoppage time might have undone all the first half invention in the blink of an eye. It may serve as a timely remainder that nothing is won in August.

The tantalising takeaway is that this remains far from a full strength Fulham side. Harrison Reed continues to creep closer to fitness following his ankle injury – and there's little doubt that the Whites are a far better side with him screening the back four. Wilson's couple of cameos suggest he could be devastating in this division again, should he curb the indiscipline that cut short another impressive display at Huddersfield. Bobby Decordova-Reid was cruelly sidelined last night so soon after his hat trick of assists at Huddersfield. Should Tom Cairney, whose class at this level simply can't be questioned, overcome his persistent knee troubles then Silva would have plenty of selection posers to ponder over.

One thing's for certain – it will be very exciting at Craven Cottage this season. Silva is determined to prove his point in English football and he has started in some style.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2021/08/fulham-at-full-throttle-look-formidable/


WhiteJC

Could this be Jean Michael Seri's redemption season?

It's fair to say that plenty of Fulham fans had written off Jean Michael Seri in the run-up to this season. The 'African Xavi' got pulses racing when the Whites beat a whole host of European sides to his signature in the summer of 2018. It felt like a statement signing as Slavisa Jokanovic's stylish side prepared to attack the top flight, especially as Barcelona had engaged in a long pursuit of the Ivorian midfielder. He came with pedigree as his partnership with Wylien Cyprien in the outstanding Nice midfield was the envy of many top European clubs.

Sadly, we only saw glimpses of Seri's talent at Craven Cottage. He started well under Slavisa Jokanovic scoring the pick of the goals in Fulham's first win – an entertaining victory over Burnley, but that arguably proved the high point of a frustrating year. There were flashes of brilliance, such as the lovely flicked ball over the Brighton defence to release Andre Schurrle at the AMEX but even that glorious moment was overshadowed by Fulham's failure to hold onto a two-goal lead on the south coast. Jokanovic's tenure probably never recovered from that severe setback.

Seri was unsettled by it as well. His fortunes mirrored Fulham's as he struggled to make an impression, seemingly stymied by the both the pace and the physicality of the Premier League. Plenty of observers felt the similarities between Seri and captain Tom Cairney meant they cancelled each other out in the same midfield. It didn't help that his laidback nature saw plenty of Craven Cottage critics label him lazy. We haven't seen anything of our big-money signing since, bar a couple of underwhelming League Cup displays, and his loan spells in Turkey and France proved pretty underwhelming. He didn't feature in Scott Parker's Premier League plans, but is now benefiting from a second chance under Marco Silva, who has admired Seri since he starred in the Paços de Ferreira midfield – guiding the Beavers to eighth in the 2014/2015 Primeira Liga.

Seri was heavily linked to a return to Galatasaray, where he had enjoyed working under Fatih Terim during a season-long loan spell, but he now has a shot at redemption after impressing Silva during the summer. His undoubted ability on the ball – as evidenced by his thirty caps for his country – can be a real asset in the right system and the early signs suggest that Seri could shine in the slower paced Championship. In a deep-lying midfield role that he has stepped into with the likes of Harrison Reed and Cairney unavailable, Seri has quietly orchestrated two of Fulham's finest performances in recent years – their electric dismantling of Huddersfield and the high-tempo overrunning of Millwall last night.

He seemed to have oceans of time to dictate play at the New Den, starting a number of one-touch moves with his precise passing and perceptive switches of play. Seri has delivered a higher than 90 per cent pass completion rate in his two starts to date – the best statistics in the entire side – and showed against the Lions that he was willing to fight for possession, sticking his foot in to win the ball back on more than one occasion. The travelling fans certainly warmed to his presence and he might become something of an unlikely cult hero with a consistent run of form.

Silva's emphatic suggestion after the final whistle that Seri is committed to Fulham and has shown no inclination to seek a move away chimes with reports that he and his family are settled in London. The head coach's assertion that there is more to come from Fulham's forgotten man as he gains further fitness is a pretty mouthwatering prospect. A starring role in Fulham's promotion push might have seemed unlikely a month ago, but Seri has arguably already played himself into Silva's strongest side. Talk about a quick turnaround – this could be his redemption season.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2021/08/could-this-be-jean-michael-seris-redemption-season/