For the first time in five years, Fulham begin a season with a new manager at the helm. With Marco Silva joining Benfica, the West London side have recruited Álvaro Arbeloa, who most recently managed Fulham‘s new boss at Real Madrid.
The new coach has brought multiple players who were part of his squad in the Spanish capital, as Fulham begin a new era with some exciting young attackers at their disposal.
However, they have also lost a lot of goals, with both of last season’s top goalscorers leaving at the end of their respective contracts.
The Cottagers have finished mid-table in each of the four seasons since their promotion to the Premier League in 2022. It is difficult to predict whether this trend will continue, with lots of questions left unanswered.
How will their youthful additions perform? How will Arbeloa fare in the Premier League?
This article will attempt to provide answers by looking at Fulham from various points of view to find out what fans can expect from them this season.
Written by Kimi Head
2025/26 season recap
Fulham secured a comfortable mid-table finish in the 2025/26 Premier League season, ending the campaign in 11th place. All that stood in the way between them and European football was a solitary point and a poorer goal difference in what was a very tight race.
Under Marco Silva, Fulham enjoyed a rather successful season, especially at Craven Cottage, which they turned into quite a fortress. The Cottagers picked up eleven victories at home, including over London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
Iwobi gave Fulham a two goal lead over Spurs at Craven Cottage. Source: Harry Murphy – Getty Images.
Fulham enjoyed runs in both cup competitions. They made it to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup, where they were eventually eliminated by Newcastle. In the FA Cup, the fifth round was where they met their match, falling to defeat against Southampton.
Harry Wilson was undoubtedly the standout performer for the Cottagers throughout the 2025/26 season. The Welshman found the back of the net eleven times in all competitions and assisted a further eight goals. Fulham certainly have a void to fill following his move to Leeds United on a free transfer.
Overall, it was a strong season for Fulham under Silva, who has now left London to take over at Benfica. Under new management, they will be hoping to continue their stability in the Premier League.
Written by Harry Day
Transfer activity
The transfer window has been exciting for Fulham, with a focus on bringing in youth to replace some major losses.
Two crucial players from last season have left the club on free transfers. Raúl Jiménez, who had to lead the line on his own for large parts of last season, scored nine league goals while Rodrigo Muniz was out injured. He left the club on a free transfer and returned to his former club, Wolves.
Player of the season Harry Wilson also left the club to join Leeds after an unbelievable season. The Welshman had 17 goal contributions in the league and scored a few contenders for goal of the season.
Issa Diop has also left West London after four years to join newly promoted Ipswich. The defender struggled for starts throughout his time at Fulham, and after a great World Cup with Morocco, decided to leave and seek first team football elsewhere. He will be joined by his former teammate, Sasa Lukic, who has also moved to the newly promoted side.
The latest addition to the squad is Shea Charles, who was an important part of Southampton’s play-off charge last season and the scorer of the winning goal in the FA Cup quarter-final against Arsenal.
Charles sent Southampton to Wembley with his late winner against Arsenal. Source: Matt Watson – Southampton FC.
Arbeloa has decided to bring a few players he knows well with him from Real Madrid. Cesar Palacios is an attacking midfielder who came through the youth academy while the Spaniard was coaching them, and Gonzalo García — a highly rated striker who had a brilliant Club World Cup in 2025. He struggled to kick on last season but still managed to score six league goals while playing limited minutes.
Written by Rian Fearnehough
Player to watch – Josh King
Studying Josh King’s debut season in SW6 is an extremely interesting exercise.
The 19-year-old did not have a bad season at all. He kept Fulham’s second most expensive signing out of the team for the first few months of the 25/26 campaign, he had a brilliant goal egregiously disallowed against Chelsea and he delighted supporters with his forward-thinking attacking intelligence and genuine passion for his boyhood club.
However, his stats do not back up what most Fulham fans viewed as a very positive season. In 32 Premier League games, he scored one goal and provided two assists. For a number 10, these stats are not particularly strong.
King scored his first Premier League goal against Burnley. Source: Ryan Pierse – Getty Images.
Marco Silva’s preference for players with Premier League experience enabled Emile Smith Rowe to reclaim his place in December 2025 and rarely lose it thereafter.
The England Under-21 international faces stiff competition from Smith Rowe and new signing Cesar Palacios for Fulham’s number 10 slot this season. Arbeloa knows the latter well, having coached him during his time at Real Madrid.
However, King can fit into this new Fulham system. His balance, calmness on the ball, and his ability to thread passes between defensive lines and dictate tempo under pressure make him a strong candidate to be at the centre of the Fulham attack.
Written by Thomas MacDonald
Strongest XI
Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Charles, Berge; Bobb, Iwobi, Palacios; García.
Similarly to Marco Silva, Arbeloa predominantly utilises the 4-2-3-1, which has been clear to see in pre-season.
There will be no change between the sticks for the Cottagers. Bernd Leno has proven himself as a reliable Premier League goalkeeper over the last eight years.
Antonee Robinson may return to the left of the defence having started four of five games for the USA at the World Cup. The American will be hoping for an injury free season after struggling last term. Timothy Castagne and Kenny Tete will compete to play at right-back.
Robinson played a key part for the USA at this summer’s World Cup. Source: Sarah Stier – FIFA.
Joachim Andersen and Calvin Bassey frequently partnered each other in the centre of the defence in over 50% of Fulham’s Premier League games last season and should be favoured again.
Going forward, there is likely to be change to the front six with multiple incomings and outgoings under the change in management.
Norwegian Sander Berge should retain his spot in the double pivot, and he may be partnered by new signing Shea Charles.
2025/26’s top goalscorer Harry Wilson has joined Leeds, so January arrival Oscar Bobb could take his place off the right.
The experienced Alex Iwobi may have a place behind the nine, while the Cottagers have signed duo Cesar Palacios and Gonzalo García from Real Madrid on long term contracts. The Spanish youngsters will be expected to make an impact in attack.
Written by William Fortune
Tactics
Although he has been the head coach at the biggest club in world football, Alvaro Arbeloa returns to the Premier League in the infancy of his coaching career.
It was only in 2025 that the former Liverpool full-back took charge of Real Madrid B team, RM Castilla, and in the senior side Arbeloa was gifted with players where he was expected to dominate most games.
Now, he will have to showcase his coaching skills as Fulham seek to keep their heads above water in an ultra-competitive Premier League.
As a defender under Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti, it should come as little surprise that Arbeloa’s ideas are built around structure and spatial awareness.
As he told the Coaches Voice when coaching Castilla, “[One] of the most important things that I emphasise with my players is to know that you can have a great game defensively, a perfect game, without ever winning the ball.”
Leading a Fulham side who are a solid mid-table outfit, with flickering aspirations of Europe, Arbeloa’s ideas on setting up solidly could help them take on teams stronger than them.
He said: “One: it is very important that they [stronger teams] don’t overrun you. Two: don’t put your foot in because they are always going to be quicker than you. Three: force them to come towards you.”
As for his work at Fulham thus far, his Mic’d Up training session offered insight into his potential approach in possession.
Arbeloa embraces winger Oscar Bobb. Source: Richard Pelham – Getty Images.
He explained to wide men Oscar Bobb and Ryan Sessegnon the importance of “patience” and playing “between the lines”, suggesting there is also compactness when progressing the ball but a degree of fluidity within that.
Furthermore, he told Harrison Reed how he “always” wants someone in the centre, likely to keep a tight unit when in possession. The Cottagers’ new signings suggest this too, with the likes of Shea Charles and Gonzalo García providing very different profiles though both helping to mainline the middle of the pitch.
Although Arbeloa deployed wide wingers at Madrid and is blessed with talent in those areas in west London, knitting together moves infield will likely be the order of the day.
Written by Brandon Williams
Expectations for the season
This forthcoming season feels like a genuine step into the unknown for the Cottagers.
They had been under the watchful eye of Marco Silva for five years before his departure this past summer to join Portuguese giants Benfica, and it really does feel odd that they will be without him this time around.
New manager Álvaro Arbeloa, while an attractive name given his playing career, is largely untested at this level, with just four-and-a-half months in charge of the Real Madrid senior squad and some time with the Castilla side on his CV.
Arbeloa took over at Real Madrid in January after Xabi Alonso’s departure. Source: David Ramirez – Soccrates.
That, coupled with the exit of talismanic figures Harry Wilson and Raúl Jiménez, and their replacements being talented but extremely green players, could mean a season of struggle for Fulham.
Of course, the ambitious Khan family, Fulham’s owners, will not want to be involved in a relegation battle; it looks as though circumstances may dictate that this is the scenario they find themselves in.
Ultimately, they will be seeking a comfortable mid-table season finish, but in reality, survival has to be the aim as they enter this new era.
Written by Matthew Shotter