Former Fulham custodian, Mark Schwarzer, is likely to have annoyed a few of those supporters that used to cheer him from the Craven Cottage terraces, after he suggested that one ‘exception’ Fulham player was unlikely to stay at the club.
The west London outfit had a reasonable 2022/23 Premier League season, finishing in a respectable 10th position, and, were it not for the team completely losing their heads at Old Trafford, they might well have gone further in the FA Cup, given that they had Man United on the rack until Aleksandar Mitrovic was red carded.
One of the main reasons why the Cottagers have done so well apart from the managerial nous of Marco Silva and Mitrovic’s goals, is the form of Joao Palhinha.
The midfielder had a great campaign in Fulham’s midfield, something identified by Schwarzer on the Gegen Pod podcast. The Australian clearly felt it would be to the benefit of other teams too.
“I think he’s been exceptional for Fulham. You can’t underestimate how big a signing he has been for Fulham this season,” he said.
“I mean, I would be surprised if he stayed at Fulham in the summer, I would be very surprised if there’s not a list of clubs who will be lining him up because I think he’s a really, really good player.
“[He’s] underrated in a lot of ways.”
The Sun previously reported that Arsenal, Man United, Newcastle, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham were all keeping tabs on a player that cost just £17m from Sporting and whose value has surely gone through the roof after a series of high quality performances in 2022/23.
According to WhoScored, the player managed four goals, one assist and an 83 percent pass accuracy across last season.
That compares favourably with West Ham’s Declan Rice, a player who West Ham believe is worth £100m per Sky Sports, and who scored four Premier League goals (six in all competitions), provided two assists and had an 88 percent pass completion.
More must-reads: