Fulham confirm club-record Emile Smith Rowe deal | OneFootball

Midfielder poised to fly out to Portugal to join pre-season training camp

Fulham have announced the £34million signing of Emile Smith Rowe from Arsenal.

Smith Rowe has cost Fulham their all-time record transfer fee, joining the Cottagers for £27million spread across four years, with an additional £7m in performance-related add-ons.

The 24-year-old passed his medical in London on Tuesday, having flown home from Arsenal’s pre-season tour of the United States on Monday in order to complete his move.

He is now poised to fly out to Portugal to join the Fulham squad on their pre-season camp in the Algarve, where they face Benfica on Friday and Sevilla next Monday.

Fulham were initially knocked back by Arsenal when a bid for Smith Rowe in the region of £25m was rejected, but a deal was struck last week to bring the three-time England international to Craven Cottage.

Smith Rowe is hopeful of getting his career back on track at Fulham, having fallen out of favour at Arsenal under Mikel Arteta during two years in which injuries have hampered his progress.

Crystal Palace also had initial interest in Smith Rowe this summer, but they backed away from a deal after feeling that the financial outlay required was too great a risk.

Instead, he has become Fulham’s second recruitment of the summer, after they re-signed left-back and academy graduate Ryan Sessegnon as a free agent following his exit from Tottenham.

Smith Rowe will hope to become a key member of Marco Silva’s team this season.

The attacking midfielder has represented England at every age group from Under-16s through to the seniors, for whom he scored his first goal in November 2021.