Fulham set to hand debuts to new trio as Marco Silva lays out Carabao Cup plan vs Birmingham
Marco Silva has revealed likely debuts for new signings Joachim Andersen, Jorge Cuenca and Sander Berge when Fulham visit Birmingham in the Carabao Cup second round on Tuesday.
Fulham have been busy in the transfer market this summer, re-signing centre-back Andersen from Palace and securing Villareal’s Cuenca in the same position, as well as bringing in Burnley defensive midfielder Berge.
Emile Smith Rowe of Arsenal joined the club for a record fee of £34million, and Ryan Sessegnon rejoined the Cottagers upon the expiry of his contract at Tottenham.
Asked whether the new signings yet to make their debuts will do so against Birmingham, Silva replied: “Probably. Let’s see. It’s a moment when some players are arriving in our football club and some players need minutes as well. It’s a moment of the season when if you rotate it’s not about fatigue.
“It’s more because it’s important to have more players in the same level from a physical point of view. Andersen, he was playing game, played the Euros, had some pre-season games, and even the first [league] game of Palace. He is probably going to have minutes as well. And all the others are going to have a chance to play.
“Everybody is ready for the game. [Cuenca] is going to start tomorrow, definitely. He can surprise people who do not know him or La Liga well. We are really pleased to have him here.”
Silva also added that he hopes Fulham sign another winger before the end of the window.
“We are working really hard to add another forward player to play in the wide areas of our attack”, he said.
“We have to work really hard to get a player in to help us to be more competitive. It has been hard work for us, when you lose some big names like we’ve lost. It was important for us to be really assertive in the market.”
Fulham had been interested in Lyon winger Rayan Cherki, but Silva would not discuss whether he remains a target.
“I’m not going to talk about players from other teams”, he said.
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