Fulham have lost each of their last three games across all competitions following a great start to the season.
It looked like the Cottagers were going to be one of the surprise teams in the Premier League when they started the 2025-26 campaign with just one loss in their first seven matches.
And their only negative result was a tough one: 0-2 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge after scoring an opener that VAR controversially ruled out.
Fulham then picked themselves back up and won three straight after that, against Leeds, Brentford and Cambridge United. Since then, however, three straight defeats, to Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Arsenal.
To make matters worse, their performances have matched the results in this span. They allowed both the Villans and the Cherries to come back to beat them and posed no threat to the Gunners – though that’s been the case for most of their rivals this season.
But there is one change Marco Silva could make in his regular starting XI that would possibly lead to them being a better and more balanced team overall.
How can Marco Silva make Fulham better?
Lack of collective and individual creativity
Fulham have been underwhelming in the creation department this season. A ‘midfield five’ of Sander Berge, Sasa Lukic, Harry Wilson, Josh King and Alex Iwobi doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence.
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Berge is a destructive midfielder with little to offer going forward. Lukic’s creativity relies almost entirely on set pieces. Wilson hits the ball well but not much other than that. King and Iwobi are the exceptions. They are both skillful and proactive driving the ball goalwards and taking defenders on.
At the same time, Marco Silva has deployed the Nigerian more and more as a winger rather than a wide attacking-midfielder. Out wide, he is not as effective as when he cuts inside and gets more touches. It also leaves the team lacking a burst of pace to break defences down from out of nowhere.
The Cottagers are bottom-six in shot attempts, big chances, expected goals take-ons attempted in the Premier League this season. Their whole set-up feels somewhat harmless at times. But one man can change that.
Key Fulham stats (per game):
- 62 chances created (Ranked #14)
- 0.96 xG (Ranked #15)
- 10.3 shot attempts (Ranked #16)
- 1.5 big chances (Ranked #16)
- 14.0 take-ons attempted (Ranked #16)
Kevin the solution?
Fulham’s record signing Kevin, who joined the club in September following a £34.6 million move from Shakhtar Donetsk, has yet to start a league game.
He has made one appearance in their starting XI this season, playing 87 minutes in their 1-0 win over Cambridge in the Carabao Cup. The Brazilian didn’t exactly shine, but led the team in crosses (7), take-ons attempted (7) and completed (2) and duels contested (14).
The 22-year-old also averages the most successful take-ons per 90 in the Premier League among those to have played 100+ minutes this season. He’s also second in attempted take-ons per 90 within this group, second only to Chelsea’s Estêvão.
Of course, the average would eventually drop over time, but it shows what he’s all about: going at defenders and trying to create something out of nothing. That is probably the one thing Fulham need the most right now.
In overall numbers, he ranks third in successful dribbles percentage among those to have attempted 10 or more. Kevin dusts the defender two out of three times he takes them on – literally.
Key stats:
- 67% take-on success rate – 8/12 (Ranked #3)
- 6.4 take-ons completed per 90 minutes (Ranked #1)
- 9.6 take-ons attempted per 90 minutes (Ranked #2)
Impact against Arsenal
Marco Silva has been controlling Kevin’s minutes in the Premier League so far. The winger has come on around the 65th-minute mark in four of his five games this season. The exception was in his Fulham debut, replacing Alex Iwobi with 14 minutes to go in regulation.
However, the earliest he’s come on was against Arsenal last time around – their toughest opponent so far. And his impact matched the challenge, since it was also his best performance of the season.
During his time on the pitch, he led the Cottagers in tackles, successful take-ons and duels contested. And after the Gunners went 1-0 up, he was the main reason Mikel Arteta’s men weren’t so comfortable down the stretch following a relatively safe previous 63 minutes.
Key stats vs Arsenal:
- 27 minutes
- 3 tackles
- 2/3 successful take-ons
- 6/9 duels won
- 1 chance created
Kevin is still young and unproven in major European leagues, which makes it even more impressive how well he’s been dealing with Premier League football in his short Fulham career so far.
Of course, no progress is linear and a young newcomer is likely to struggle at some point. But his main characteristic match exactly what the Cottagers have been lacking in this late poor stretch of results. Adama Traore is another option, but at this point he’s a finished product and not starter quality in the Premier League.
Giving Kevin a chance may turn their fortunes – and also develop a player they can sell for even more money in the future. Marco Silva would be crazy not to do it.