Fulham’s comfortable survival in the Premier League last season confounded many who expected the Whites’ ‘yo-yo’ trend to continue.
However, a top-half finish has cemented the idea around Craven Cottage that a sustained period of Premier League football is an achievable goal with the proper squad management and under the steady hand of Marco Silva.
There are many potential ins and outs at the Cottage this summer. We will update you as the deals are made and what's in process. The confirmed the transfer ins and outs at Fulham are as follows.
Fulham signings: Summer 2023 arrivals
Adama Traore
Many would consider Adama Traore to be a significant signing for Fulham, despite the fact that he came in as a free transfer. Traore is a 27-year-old winger that Fulham managed to bring in from Wolves, and this transfer was completed in mid-August. Of course, as a free transfer, this is a massive bargain for Fulham, and it’s a move that puts the team in a solid position for the upcoming season. As for what Traore can and will bring to Fulham, he is a powerhouse on the pitch, as you can tell by his physical stature.
Additionally, for a guy that would be considered pretty large for a winger, he still has the kind of pace that Fulham needs down the wings. Therefore, Adama Traore should be able to use this pace to get in behind the defence of other teams and create chances for Fulham. This will be vital when they go up against the top teams, and since Traore has been signed on a two-year deal, he has plenty of time to settle in and perform at his very best for the club.
Finally, should Fulham wish to extend Traore’s contract once it expires, there is an option for a 12-month extension. So when weighing all of these factors up, it’s obvious that Traore is one of the best Fulham new signings of the summer period.
Calvin Bassey
Despite Shahid Rafiq Khan’s financial might, Cottagers haven’t been as active on the transfer market this year. It seems that Fulham will bet on quality over quantity this year, with Calvin Bassey currently the only expensive player to boost coach Marco Silva’s side.
Calvin Bassey is a 23-year-old center-back who previously enjoyed spells with Ajax and Glasgow Rangers. It seems he has the required arsenal to be up to par with Premier League’s top players. Calvin joins Fulham on a €22.50m transfer fee. He’ll have to prove his worth sooner rather than later, as Cottagers fans are eager to see what their team is capable of this year.
Raul Jimenez
The fans of Premier League football need no introduction to Raul Jimenez’s talent. The Mexico international forward completed his move to Fulham on the 25th of July after club owner Shahid Rafiq Khan sent Wolves an irresistible €6.50m offer for the 32-year-old striker.
Raul Jimenez’s contract with Cottagers has him playing with the white jersey through the summer of 2025 but there is an option for prolonging the deal with an additional year, should he manage to bring his A game.
Raul Jimenez enjoyed five memorable seasons with Wolverhampton Wanderers, during which he made 135 official appearances for the club, bagging 40 goals and supplying teammates with 15 assists. He’s no stranger to Premier League football, so snapping him on a €6.50m deal is surely a bargain and a half from Cottagers.
Timothy Castagne – Leicester
Signing from relegated Leicester for £10m, Castagne will make an immediate impact for Fulham at right-back. He played 42 times for Leicester last season, missing just one Premier League game during that time. He scored twice, and picked up four assists. Though, he was part of a defence that ultimately got Leicester relegated from the Premier League. Fulham will be hoping they've signed the version of Castagne that got Leicester fans so excited in the first place.
Steven Benda – Swansea City
Having been first choice keeper last season at Swansea, the German stopper will now move to Fulham to compete for a place. With Bernd Leno holding the first-team spot, he's backed up by Marek Rodak, so Fulham were keen to increase competition in this position. Joining on a 3-year deal, with an option for an extra year, the 24-year-old will now get to work displacing Leno as the first choice.
Fulham's transfer departures
Aleksandar Mitrovic – Al-Hilal
While you can see that several Fulham transfer departures have been executed in recent weeks, the sale of Aleksandar Mitrovic tops the lot. The 28-year-old Serbian was clearly looking for a fresh challenge after being quite vocal about leaving Fulham this summer. However, it’s still somewhat of a surprise that Mitrovic chose to make the move to Al-Hilal given the kinds of offers he was attracting. Nevertheless, Fulham has cashed in massively by selling this striker to Al-Hilal, and the reported transfer fee was in the region of €52.6 million. Believe it or not, this is the only Fulham transfer departure that brought in any money for the club this summer – or should I say, this summer so far?
All other transfers have been completed without any fees. So naturally, such moves have added zero to the cash balance at Fulham. Yet with such a huge sum commanded and sealed for the transfer of Mitrovic, Fulham is now sitting on a decent sum that they could use to make a big signing before August is over.
Joe Bryan – Released
Joe Bryan arrived from boyhood club Bristol City in 2018, turning down a move to Aston Villa to sign for the newly-promoted Whites. He made 28 appearances that year as the Whites went straight back to the Championship, but it was in his second campaign that Bryan firmly took centre stage.
A stalwart under Scott Parker, the left-back etched his name in Fulham folklore with two goals in extra-time to down rivals Brentford in the 2020 Play-Off final at Wembley – the first a free-kick from almost 40 yards out, and the second an impudent dart into the box and a cool finish. As Gary Weaver exclaimed on the Sky commentary – “the full-back is moonlighting as a striker. Wembley is his!”
Bryan was ultimately displaced by Antonee Robinson in the seasons that followed, and had an unsuccessful loan spell at Nice in Ligue 1 last season, but his contribution at Wembley has written him firmly into the hearts of the Fulham faithful, with a common utterance that Bryan “will never have to buy a drink in SW6 again.”
A return to Bristol City looked on the cards for a while, but it looks likely now that Bryan will opt to stay in London, with Millwall reportedly leading the race for his signature.
Paulo Gazzaniga – Girona
Paulo Gazzaniga’s time at Craven Cottage has been unremarkable. After joining from Tottenham Hotspur on a free contract at the start of 2021/22, Gazzaniga got a brief spell of starts in goal under Silva, before being displaced by Marek Rodak for the rest of the campaign.
The Argentina international departed on loan last season after Bernd Leno’s arrival demoted him to third-choice keeper, joining Girona in La Liga, where he made 28 appearances as the Catalans secured a comfortable survival in the Spanish top-flight.
It is back to Catalonia that he goes now, rejoining the side he spent last year on loan with on a permanent free transfer.
Shane Duffy – Norwich City
Shane Duffy initially joined Fulham on a loan deal from Brighton & Hove Albion last summer, before that was made permanent on a short-term contract in January to facilitate the Whites’ loan of Cedric Soares from Arsenal.
Whilst his on-field impact at Craven Cottage was limited, Duffy became a somewhat unlikely cult hero at Fulham, with a significant positive impact on the dressing room. His enthusiasm in responding to the crowd became a feature of the second half of the season, and his substitute appearance in his final game against Leicester City at home was greeted with roars of approval from the Hammersmith End, despite an error leading to a Foxes goal.
Duffy joins Norwich City in the Championship on a free transfer, bringing plenty of experience to Carrow Road as the Canaries attempt to climb out of the second tier.
Steven Sessegnon – Released
It is a difficult thing, being the brother of a young superstar, and where Ryan Sessegnon shone in a Fulham shirt, his twin brother toiled. Steven made just 19 appearances across six seasons at Fulham after debuting in 2017 in a game against Wycombe in the Carabao Cup.
There were brief moments where it felt like another Sessegnon star might rise at Fulham – in 2019/20 he made 14 appearances in the Championship under Scott Parker, but was never able to secure a space firmly in the starting XI.
Three loan spells followed, firstly to Bristol City in the Championship and then to Plymouth Argyle in League One, but Sessegnon’s contributions were fleeting rather than forceful. He had a better time at Charlton Athletic this season, winning the Addicks’ goal of the season award, but his contract has not been renewed at Fulham, and he departs the club this summer.
There’s still a real talent in there, something that Charlton fans saw glimpses of this season, and a return to the Valley permanently could be a shrewd move as the full-back, still only 23, moves into the next stage of his career.
Neeskens Kebano
After making 139 official appearances for Cottagers and scoring 21 goals, Neeskens Kebano decided to open a new chapter in his professional career. His contract with the club expired so he fell victim to the UAE Pro League project.
The 31-year-old winger joins Al-Jazira on a three-year deal with an option of an additional one if his work proves top-notch.
Ivan Caveleiro – Lille
Caveleiro has ended his time with Fulham with a free transfer to Lille, having spent last season on loan in Turkey. Caveleiro played 21 times for Fulham in their impressive Championship season, but wasn't deemed ready for the Premier League. With his contract running out, Fulham decided to let him leave rather than include him in their squad for the 23/24 season.
