Fulham: Who were Marco Silva's first five signings and where are they now? | OneFootball

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Marco Silva has taken Fulham from a side with a yo-yo club status to being a properly respected Premier League outfit. Since the arrival of the coy Portuguese gaffer, Fulham have firmly established themselves as the Fulham of old. Built on dependability, and work-rate, with truly talismanic figures dotted throughout the starting XI for good measure, an air of positivity has been permeating through the air in West London. Registering their highest league placement in more than a decade last term, Fulham have made a steady start to the 2023/2024 campaign, sitting solidly in lower mid-table.

Having joined the club in the summer of 2021, Silva is entering his third season with the club, and a lot has changed since his arrival two years ago. The manager, formerly of Hull, Everton, and Watford, has overseen quite the turnover of playing staff, bringing in six new faces in his first transfer window alone. Naturally, due to the fluid nature of football, many of Silva's early signings at the club are now playing elsewhere. Let's take a look at where Marco Silva's first five signings at Fulham are now...

Harry Wilson

Harry Wilson is Fulham and Wales’ answer to James Ward-Prowse. The free-kick and dead-ball specialist has registered himself 10 goals from free-kicks in his career, meaning a fifth of his goals in senior football have come from a set-piece.

The exciting Welshman was Marco Silva’s first piece of business in West London, brought in from Liverpool for a fee of £12 million following a string of loan moves, the attacking midfielder was considered a major coup, and would star in 41 of the Cottagers’ 46 games during their emphatic, title-winning campaign.

Now 26 years old, the technically intelligent footballer seems to have found a permanent home on the banks of the River Thames at Craven Cottage. Wilson has been a prominent feature for the side in every season since joining, appearing in over 80 games. That includes 13 Premier League starts last term.

Paulo Gazzaniga

The 6’5 shot-stopping Argentinian joined Fulham on the same day as Harry Wilson in a double unveiling. The player had fashioned a career as predominantly a second-choice goalkeeper for the likes of Spurs and Southampton, so was perhaps hoping he’d get more of a crack at the whip in the second tier.

Having penned a two-year deal at Fulham, exchanging North London for West London, the free transfer made just 15 appearances under Marco Silva, conceding 21 goals. After just a year with the club, Gazaniga joined Girona on a season-long loan deal, before he moved to the Spanish side permanently during the 2023 summer window.

As the La Liga club’s number one, he’ll be hoping he can help inspire his new club who have begun their 23-24 campaign brilliantly with four wins and a draw from their first five games, with Gazzaniga keeping two clean sheets in the process. Finally, Gazzaniga appears to have found a home after his nomadic spell in England.

Nathaniel Chalobah

A player once hotly-favoured to be a future England midfield maestro, Nathaniel Chalobah’s career has arguably been a little underwhelming. Joining Fulham for an undisclosed fee in August 2021 from Watford, the former Chelsea man was returning to West London, except he’d be sporting the white and black of the Cottagers rather than the royal blue of his ex-club.

Spending 18-months at Fulham, Chalobah played just 28 times for the club before moving on in the 2023 January transfer window to West Bromwich Albion on an 18-month deal.

Impressing during his opening few months with the Midlands club, Israeli side, Maccabi Haifa, who competed in last season’s Champions League were reportedly interested in him, although no deal was ever agreed. Chalobah remains with the Baggies, and has clearly established himself as a regular starter under manager, Carlos Corberan.

Rodrigo Muniz

Like most strikers joining Fulham over the last few years, Rodrigo Muniz was met with an arduous task of displacing the bang in-form, Alexander Mitrovic. The Brazilian didn’t get much of a look in during his debut season, with the big Serb smashing the Championship goalscoring record.

Signing from Flamengo for an undisclosed fee, the player was reduced to predominantly cameo appearances, such was the dominance of Mitrovic. Netting five goals in 25 league games, the inexperienced 20-year-old would find himself shipped out on loan to Middlesbrough the following season.

Returning to Craven Cottage after the conclusion of Boro’s Championship play-off disappointment, the youngster was reportedly being lined up for a Fulham exit, with Football Insider claiming Marco Silva was happy to sanction a deal if it meant Fulham could sign Viktor Gyokeres - a move that never materialised. Turning out for the family club on three occasions so far this term, Muniz will be hoping now that Mitrovic is out of the picture he can stake a claim for a starting berth.

Domingos Quina

The Portuguese left-winger’s stint in West London was that short and insignificant that the Fulham faithful would be forgiven for forgetting about him altogether. Signing on the dotted line from Watford on loan during the 2021 summer transfer window, the tricky winger had arrived with quite the youth pedigree, spending his formative years under the pupillage of Benfica, Chelsea and West Ham.

While his spell at Vicarage Road was relatively short-lived, he made 15 appearances for the Hornets the season prior. His time working under Marco Silva can only be defined by two games, such was the lack of his involvement.

He would spend the rest of the first six months of the 2021-2022 campaign either in the bench or excluded from the match-day squad entirely before moving on to Barnsley in the 2022 January window. 18-months on, the 22-year-old can now be found plying his trade for Serie A side and Watford’s sister-club, Udinese.