Friday Fulham Stuff - 21/01/22...

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Silva says scoring streak is no guarantee of promotion

Marco Silva is delighted by Fulham's goal glut since the turn of the year – but insists their recent scoring streak is no guarantee of promotion.

The Whites have hit nineteen goals in three matches in the space of eight days and opened up a five-point lead at the top of the Championship after beating Birmingham 6-2 on Tuesday night. The Portuguese head coach was delighted with his side's ruthlessness in front of goal, but reiterated that it would count for nothing if Fulham don't go up.

Speaking in this afternoon's pre-match press conference before Saturday's trip to Stoke City, Silva said:

"It's a consequence of our philosophy and the quality with which we are playing. The numbers are there, great results in the last eight days to score so many goals is something fantastic. But at the end it was three games, nine points and nothing more than that. It has been really, really good but the stamp will be there if we get our main goal at the end of the season."

He is taking nothing for granted and highlighted the competitive nature of the Championship as well as the promotion credentials of this weekend's opposition.

"We are there but we have so many contenders around us. We have quality but they have showed quality as well. The main thing for us is to keep focused on our main goal."

Silva also dismissed reports suggesting that teenager Fabio Carvalho would definitely be leaving Fulham at the end of the season when his current contract expires.

"Until now I have nothing on the table which says he will be gone. If you ask me if it's a good situation for a young boy to be coming to the last year of his contract, of course it isn't. We have been trying to get this done. Until now it wasn't possible, let's see if until the end of the season we can do something."



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2022/01/silva-says-scoring-streak-is-no-guarantee-of-promotion/

[WhiteJC]

Seri sees Ivory Coast through group stages

Fulham midfielder Jean Michael Seri played the full ninety minutes as the Ivory Coast secured qualification from the Africa Cup of Nations group stages with an emphatic 3-1 win over defending champions Algeria this afternoon.

The Elephants eased into a three-goal lead thanks to strikes from Frank Kessie, Ibrahim Sangare and Nicola Pepe. Although Sofiane Bendebka pulled a goal back for the Algerians, the Ivory Coast eased to a second victory from three games and qualified for the second phase at the top of the table.

They will now play Egypt in the second round on Wednesday afternoon.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2022/01/seri-sees-ivory-coast-through-group-stages/

[WhiteJC]

Sky Sports pundit offers prediction for free-scoring Fulham's clash with Stoke

After somewhat of a blip in results between November and December, it's safe to say that Fulham are well and truly back on track in their quest to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Following a 7-0 drubbing of Blackburn Rovers over two months ago, the Cottagers won just two of their next seven matches – four of those were draws and they finally came unstuck against Sheffield United for their first loss since October.

Since that setback against the Blades before Christmas though, Marco Silva's players have been on the warpath, with Reading, Bristol City and Birmingham the ones to suffer.

Fulham have scored 19 goals in their last three league matches and the next team to face the test are Stoke City, who will welcome them to the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

A daunting task indeed on recent form and the Potters have new defenders on their books in Phil Jagielka and Taylor Harwood-Bellis to try and thwart the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic – Michael O'Neill's men stopped a run of three matches without a win at the weekend with a victory over Hull City.

Sky Sports pundit David Prutton is predicting no such luck here though for Stoke as he is siding with a Fulham victory – although not as dominant as their last three with a 2-1 scoreline predicted.

"It was a good win for Stoke last Sunday to get back in the right direction after a stop-start month," Prutton said on his Sky Sports predictions podcast.

"Phil Jagielka's arrival already looks a shrewd bit of business.

He will have to be at his best to repel this Fulham attack.

"My word, have they been on song lately. Nineteen goals in three games is, frankly, ridiculous.

"Stoke might be a bit more resilient, but it's still hard to see past an away win."

The Verdict

It must be a struggle for any manager to plan coming up against Fulham's relentless attacking threat right now considering what they've done in the last week-and-a-half.

As they've proven a couple of times this season though they are not unbeatable and Stoke themselves have attacking threats like Tyrese Campbell who can cause trouble.

Phil Jagielka may have the tools to stop Mitrovic in his tracks but the issue from there is there's several other players who are dangers.

Unfortunately for Stoke fans there's only one way I see this going and it's a 3-1 victory for the visitors.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/sky-sports-pundit-offers-prediction-for-free-scoring-fulhams-clash-with-stoke/

[WhiteJC]

Harvey Elliott complicates Liverpool transfer pursuit with Jorge Mendes also involved

The Reds are rumoured to be keeping tabs on an exciting young Fulham prospect by the name of Fabio Carvalho after being scouted those at the top of the Liverpool hierarchy

Liverpool are monitoring the situation surrounding young Fulham star Fabio Carvalho as the Reds look to raid the Cottagers of an exiting talent once again.

Jurgen Klopp's side have previous with those at Craven Cottage after the dealings surrounding Harvey Elliot's switch from west London to Merseyside in the summer in 2019 left a bitter taste in the mouths of those at Fulham.

If Liverpool are to successfully lure Carvalho to Anfield, they will have to overcome any ill-feeling which still exists after netting Elliott for a relatively modest fee.

Liverpool will also need to deal with notorious super agent Jorge Mendes in any dealings to land Carvalho, according to The Sun.

Mendes, whose list of cliental includes Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho, is thought to be assisting his brother (who is Carvalho's actual official representative) in finding a potential buyer.

The Reds are not the only club interested in potentially securing Carvalho's signature, with fellow Premier League outfits West Ham and Leeds both also rumoured to be mulling over parting ways with £5m for his services.

Carvalho has also attracted attention from across the continent with Portuguese titans FC Porto keeping tabs on him, but the Portuguese-theme does not end there.

Those at the top of the Fulham hierarchy will be weighing up whether it would be wiser to cash in on the 19-year-old now or hope for a larger transfer fee in the summer.

Carvalho enjoyed a stellar start to his Championship season this term, bagging three goals in his first four league games before his form was scuppered by a toe injury and contracting Covid-19.

The dispute surrounding Elliot's transfer stems from a rule that states when a player under the age of 24 moves clubs on a free transfer, his former side are owed compensation for their role in his development.

The Cottagers wanted as much as £7m for the talented midfielder, but Liverpool were not willing to muster up such a fee.

As a result, the Professional Football Compensation Committee ruled that Liverpool should pay an initial £1.5m for Elliott in February of last year.

They also included performance-related conditions for up to £2.8m of future payments as well as a 20 per cent sell-on clause.

Elliot has since established himself as one of the most exciting midfield prospects in the Premier League under the guidance of Klopp.

He is currently nursing a lengthy ankle injury after sustaining a gruesome fracture during a trip to Elland Road in this season's 3-1 away victory.

While his return date for competitive action is unclear, Elliot has already returned to first-team training far sooner than originally expected.



https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/liverpool-harvey-elliot-fulham-transfer-26006200

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Fulham won't sell Carvalho in January

Fulham will refuse to sell teenage sensation Fabio Carvalho this month, according to the Sun.

The in-form attacking midfielder is into the last six months of his Craven Cottage contract and has been linked with a move to Liverpool and West Ham in the last couple of days. But the Championship leaders have decided not to cash in on the 19 year-old in January – as they see him as integral to their promotion push and Marco Silva still hopes to convince him to commit his future to the Cottagers.

The Sun quotes a source as saying:

"Promotion back to the Premier League must be worth around £170 million to Fulham. No amount of money they could get for Fabio would be worth that if they sell him now."

The England youth international, who scored on his first Premier League start last, has enjoyed an outstanding campaign under Silva as the Whites look to return to the top flight at the first time of asking. Carvalho has scored seven goals in sixteen appearances for Fulham this season, adding two assists.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2022/01/fulham-wont-sell-carvalho-in-january/

[WhiteJC]

CAVING NONE OF IT Liverpool and West Ham in Fabio Carvalho transfer blow as Fulham refuse to sell 18-year-old despite deal running down

FABIO CARVALHO is going nowhere this month in a blow to Liverpool and West Ham.

The two Premier League top four sides have been chasing the highly-rated winger who is out of contract at the end of the season.

But Championship Fulham are digging in and will steadfastly reject any firm bids for their latest teenage star.

That is even though they could end up losing him in the summer.

Carvalho, 18, has attracted interest from the top flight big guns.

He has had a run of exciting displays in Fulham's pursuit of promotion immediately back to the Premier League.

A source told SunSport: "Promotion back to the Premier League must be worth around £170 million to Fulham.

"No amount of money they could get for Fabio would be worth that if they sell him now."

Boss Marco Silva and the club are desperately trying to persuade him to sign a new long term deal and continue his footballing education at Craven Cottage.

Liverpool and The Hammers have been heavily linked with a move for Carvalho in recent weeks as they bid to pep up their push for Champions League football next season.

Fulham sold rookie midfielder Harvey Elliott to Liverpool last year via a tribunal which brought them a record fee rising to £4.3million eventually.

Carvalho, who has played for England at youth level, would have to go through the same process even if he doesn't sign a new deal with Fulham and decides to leave as a free agent, because he is under 24.



https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/17393126/liverpool-west-ham-fabio-carvalho-transfer-fulham/