When will Raul Jimenez make his Fulham debut? That question and more will be answered in this article
Fulham’s transfer window has exploded into life with Mexican international striker Raul Jimenez the latest addition after completing a £5.5m move from Wolves.
Jimenez joins the Cottagers on the back of a busy period of rumored incomings and outgoings at the club.
It was revealed that star striker Aleksander Mitrovic and manager Marco Silva were subject of lucrative bids from teams in the Saudi League.
Mitrovic has sealed his new move after agreeing terms, whilst Marco Silva announced he would be staying in West London.
Fulham fans are certainly right to be worried about the loss of Mitrovic, who scored 14 Premier League goals last season to help the Cottagers to a top-10 finish.
However, the club acted quickly in finding a direct replacement in Raul Jimenez. For such a small fee, this is a risk-free move from Fulham. Jimenez is a player with a high footballing IQ and can lead the line similarly to Mitrovic.
Since his recovery from a devastating head injury back in 2020, Jimenez has struggled to regain his form and regular place in the Wolves squad.
This move provides both Jimenez with a fresh start but also provides Fulham immediate cover at a cut price. Losing Mitrovic was not ideal for the club, but this signing as a reaction to that is certainly a positive one.
When will Raul Jimenez make his Fulham debut?
Now we look ahead to the possible debut for the Mexican forward, who will be eager to link up with his new teammates with the new Premier League season fast approaching.
With Fulham currently with preseason, it looks as though Jimenez will have to wait until Saturday 5 August to make his Fulham debut.
Fulham play Bundesliga side Hoffenheim at Craven Cottage, which marks their final preseason game before travelling to Goodison Park to face Everton on the opening day of the new Premier League season.
With Silva now without Mitrovic, it will be interesting to see if Jimenez is thrown straight into the starting XI.
With only one preseason game for both the manager and player to acclimatize to one another, it will come down to important Premier League games for Jimenez to truly stake his claim. The transition should be relatively seamless for a player with proven top-level experience and he could provide some healthy competition alongside fellow Fulham striker Vinicius.
Fulham also look likely to bring in more names this summer, including Calvin Bassey from Ajax and Callum-Hudson Odoi from Chelsea. Fulham fans will be hoping that Jimenez can fill the Mitrovic void and hopefully help lead the Cottagers to another successful Premier League season.
