What next for Fulham after European hopes fade away? | OneFootball

Fulham owner Shahid Khan had ambitions of showing off his glitzy new Riverside Stand on the European stage next season.

The Cottagers’ chances of strutting their stuff on Thursday nights have gone up in smoke, however, after taking just three points from five games since the 3-2 defeat of Premier League champions Liverpool at the start of April.

The wheels have come off their campaign at the worst possible time and a crucial few months lie ahead for the Craven Cottage club.

There were grumbles from fans in the wake of the 3-1 home defeat to Everton, which effectively killed off their Europa Conference League hopes, but the reality is Fulham’s lack of quality depth beyond core starters has been their Achilles heel.

Striker Rodrigo Muniz’s season-ending injury is the perfect case in point as Marco Silva has had to turn to outcast Carlos Vinicius to act as an emergency back-up to Raul Jimenez, but the Brazilian was left on the bench when they were chasing two goals against the Toffees.

Silva has improved Fulham’s fortunes in all four of his seasons at the club so it is no surprise that he is attracting admiring glances at home and abroad.

The former Everton and Watford boss is aware you cannot stand still in the Premier League and his squad looks primed for a refresh to ensure they remain among the group of teams with realistic aims of qualifying for Europe.

A number of first-team players are out of contract or on the fringes and Dutch right-back Kenny Tete is, arguably, the only member of the group that seems like a must keep.

Club captain Tom Cairney has made just two league starts all season, Willian has had little impact since returning in January, while Vinicius is almost certain to depart. Harrison Reed and Andreas Pereira could be sold to free up funds and space.

A Conference League campaign would have warranted keeping the majority, but Silva’s preference to work with a small squad means he and director of football Tony Khan will need to be ruthless and capture upgrades.

As well as new signings, Fulham’s top brass will be battling to keep left-back Antonee Robinson out of the clutches of bigger clubs.

They will also be hoping for more from Emile Smith-Rowe, who has blown hot and cold in his debut season in west London.

After losing star men Aleksandar Mitrovic and Joao Palhinha in successive summers, a different outcome and an ambitious summer could be the signal for Fulham fans that European football will be played in front of the Riverside Stand in the not-too-distant future.

Find the best bookmakers over at FIRST.com.