After five seasons in charge of Fulham, Marco Silva departed Craven Cottage this summer to return home to Portugal, taking over at Benfica.
He led the Cottagers back into the Premier League from the EFL Championship during his first season, before going on to seal finishes of 10th, 13th, 11th and 11th across the subsequent four campaigns.
Now, under new manager Alvaro Arbeloa, Fulham will be looking to achieve European qualification this season. Will the Spainard be up for the challenge?
Is Alvaro Arbeloa the right man for Fulham?
It is a massive risk, no doubt about that, but appointing Arbeloa could be an intriguing move by Fulham.
The 43-year-old didn’t lead Real Madrid to silverware during his brief stint last season, but he was always likely to fail given in what was a turbulent campaign for Los Blancos. Perhaps taking the risk with Arbeloa, who has managed just 28 senior matches in his career, might be worth it.
At Craven Cottage, there is far less pressure to win every single game and this might give Arbeloa time to build a team in which might surprise everyone. He tinkered with a few different tactical systems last term, but during pre-season, Arbeloa has routinely stuck with a 4-2-3-1 that could favor Fulham’s strengths.
The Cottagers only won one of their five friendly matches at the time of writing, and they face a tricky start against Chelsea next weekend on the opening weekend of the Premier League season. Win or draw against their rivals, however, and Arbeloa may just have the fans on his side from the get go.
Fulham’s summer investments
Since the start of the summer transfer window, Fulham have spent nearly $100m on four players.
Gonçalo Garcia and César Palacios join from Real Madrid, two players who Arbeloa knows closely. Elsewhere, midfielder Shea Charles arrives from Southampton and Jonah Kusi-Asare moves from Bayern Munich permanently having enjoyed a loan spell last term.
The strategy appears to be prioritizing quantity over quality, something that could prove vital should Fulham wish to achieve a European spot this season. It’s also worth noting that three of these four are 22 years or younger.
After releasing Raúl Jiménez (who rejoined Wolves and scored in their Championship opener against Blackburn Rovers), the 30 year-old Garcia could be an ideal long-term replacement. He scored eight goals for Real Madrid last term, despite starting just 15 of his 39 appearances.
Palacios made only seven appearances for Los Blancos, yet arrives at only 21 years-old and filled with undoubted potential. Kusi-Asare is one to watch. but featured in five games for the second team, scoring four goals.
The biggest signing has been that of Charles. The midfielder shone in the Championship for Southampton throughout 2025/26, nabbing 6g/2a over 38 appearances.. As such, he will bring some quality to a midfield which has lost Sasa Lukic and Harry Wilson this summer.
The departure of Wilson might be a tough one to take. During his five years with Fulham, the Welshman scored 36 goals and grabbed 46 assists. Last season, he recorded 19 goal contributions.
Breakthrough star: Jonah Kusi-Asare
The 19-year-old might be behind the likes of Garcia and Rodrigo Muniz in the pecking order, but Kusi-Asare is a player with a bright future ahead of him.
He only played 122 first-team minutes last season across all competitions, but scored four goals in five Premier League 2 appearances. He also offers a different profile to that of Garcia and should get opportunities under Arbeloa this term.
The key question is, can he take them when offered?
What constitutes a good season?
First and foremost, getting off to a positive start will be vital for Arbeloa. Building some momentum will allow the club a chance to challenge for a top half finish in the top flight and perhaps Europe.
A cup run or two would also be nice. The Cottagers have reached the quarter-finals or beyond in the FA Cup just twice since 2010.
In the EFL Cup, a semi-final appearance in 2023/24 was impressive, yet aside from that run, Fulham have reached just one quarter-final since 2004/05.
The Premier League remains the priority, of course, but wouldn’t lifting a trophy be nice?
