Fulham

Drew Heatley
Fan writer

They say never go back, but it does not feel like Willian ever really left.

It was an uncharacteristically quiet deadline day, with the only news being that Fulham are set to re-sign the Brazilian winger on a deal until the end of the season.

The January window is often a damp squib. Any value in this period has long gone and most deals are based on necessity.

That is exactly the situation we found ourselves in. Injuries to right-back Kenny Tete and winger Harry Wilson left us light in both areas.

Willian is a plaster for our Wilson situation. The latter has featured regularly since he turned our derby with Brentford on its head in November, scoring five and adding an assist, but a stress fracture to his foot means his season is effectively over.

On the face of it, the Willian deal makes total sense; he is well known to Marco Silva and we know he can contribute. He scored 10 and racked up seven assists in two seasons at Craven Cottage.

On the other hand, it always felt like the Brazilian had one foot out of the door. You would be forgiven for hoping that our recruitment team might have had other targets in their stats pack.

Fans will be disappointed we did not get any cover at right-back.

Timothy Castagne has been filling in for the injured Tete, but Saturday's game against Newcastle United showed how tough the Belgian has found it compared to the assured performances that kept Tete out of the first XI last season.

We are just four points off the European places, so each of the 14 games we have left this season are crucial. Time will tell if we have the strength in numbers it takes to qualify, let alone to mount a challenge on two fronts next term.

Who knows? Perhaps our old flame can help us get there.

Find more from Drew Heatley at Fulhamish, external

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham are set to sign Willian and manager Marco Silva looks to be getting the winger signing he called for, but where is his desired right-back?

Just Timothy Castagne is available now, with Kenny Tete currently injured and expected to be out for the majority of the season.

However, Fulham have recalled Devan Tanton from Chesterfield, who will be part of the squad and act as right-back cover, with Ryan Sessegnon also willing to step in as required as he searches for minutes.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty

Fulham are in talks to re-sign Willian as a free agent after he cancelled his contract with Olympiakos.

The 36-year-old is in London as the two sides look to agree a deal which would fulfil boss Marco Silva's request to sign a winger in the winter transfer window.

Willian was in attendance at Chelsea's match at home to West Ham at Stamford Bridge on Monday night as talks between Fulham and the Brazil international's team continue.

The deal does not need to be rushed before the deadline at 23:00 GMT as Willian is a free agent - and a formal announcement is expected on Tuesday.

The Whites are confident they have completed the deal while sources close to the player have described a full agreement as close.

The midfielder made 67 appearances for the Cottagers in his previous spell, scoring 10 goals and providing seven assists.

We asked you what would ensure you are satisfied this deadline day.

Here are some of your comments:

Joseph: One simple thing. Any player who is able to either score, or put a decent cross into the box, whether that is from a corner or from open play. Doesn't matter how much we spend, but we desperately need at least one of those options.

Mike: Definitely a right-back and a striker.

Robert: We need someone who can score 15 goals in a season. We also need someone who can create goals. If anything were to happen to Antonee Robinson, we would struggle to make any goals.

Tom: With our recent record of reinvigorating Premier League players whose careers have stalled at other clubs, it may be worth taking a punt on Evan Ferguson.

Charles: We need a right-back. We have been linked to Mehmet Zeki Celik of Roma, but he hasn't been given the green light to go. With Tete injured and Timothy Castange under-performing, a new right-back is the bare minimum.

Alex: We need a winger desperately. With Reiss Nelson still out and Harry Wilson out for 10 weeks, we cannot rely on Adama Traore as he is too inconsistent. Everyone talks about the striker position and I am still waiting for Rodrigo Muniz to make an impact. He proved himself to the club last season that he can score, so give him enough time and it will come when he has the confidence.

It's the last day of the winter transfer window and Premier League clubs have until 23:00 GMT to complete their business.

We'll bring you all the news, views, twists and turns as the clock ticks down to deadline.

Follow it all here

Let's be realistic.

Instead of setting sights high only for dreams to get dashed, we want to know what the minimum requirement is for Fulham on deadline day.

Be as specific as possible and tell us what will ensure you are satisfied come 23:00 GMT on Monday.

Let us know

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Newcastle United and Fulham.

Here are some of your comments:

Newcastle fans

Peter: Newcastle lacked ideas and the players looked as though they thought they were entitled to win. Maybe that's not the case. Sometimes they need a plan B and greater depth in the squad. Both Bournemouth and Fulham out-muscled Newcastle. More time in the gym needed?

Richard: This keeps happening, doesn't it? And at St James' Park too! That's about 12 points dropped against sides we should either be beating easily or at least grinding out a result against. But, unlike some, I have absolute faith in Eddie Howe to sort it. If it's not something he can remedy, then I doubt very much it's anything within his control to fix in the first place. He is too much of a professional to say out loud that we need freshening up, but we really could do with some new faces.

Pete: Newcastle gave the game away. We should have had it dead and buried. Unlike the Bournemouth game, we weren't beaten by a better team. Instead, we lost a game that we could have and should have won.

Krish: We are making life hard for ourselves by not getting results against teams like Fulham or being up for the fight. They had our numbers by flooding the wings with pace and power. I feel like we need to get Wednesday done and out of the way.

Fulham fans

Guy: Great display and I'm so happy with the bounce back, getting our first win at St James' Park since 2009. Keep it up like this and I will be booking my tickets to obscure Slovenian football teams come August.

Chris: What a win at that ground! A great performance in the second half, with both strikers on the scoresheet and another assist from Robinson.

Charles: Whatever Marco said to them at half-time obviously worked. It went from watching an amateur team to watching prime Barcelona. I reckon if we can force teams more and exploit mistakes then we can have another late European push.

Iain: Most Fulham fans will not be surprised at this result. If they had a reliable striker, they would be in the top four comfortably. They have lost and drawn games they should have won and, invariably, it is always against the teams well below them in the table. Fulham have a long history of doing this! Quite how getting a recognised and experienced striker was not top priority in this transfer window is baffling.

Watch highlights and analysis from Saturday's six Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool

• Wolves 2-0 Aston Villa

Fulham are keen on Sunderland's 22-year-old Northern Ireland full-back Trai Hume. (Belfast Telegraph - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Sunday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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Fulham defender Antonee Robinson has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day about the win: "In the first half, we were still putting things together and it wasn't really falling for us. In the second half, we came in and said: 'Don't concede and we are going to get chances'. We came out flying and putting the pressure on them.

"We managed to get the goal, then the lads coming on and scoring has been the story for us.

"Tactically, it was all the same. We just said: 'If we don't concede, we can go on and win the game'. We said that we needed to be more physical and not lose tackles. They started to get pinned back a little bit and, after we got the goal, we just carried on with our game plan.

"The gaffer didn't have a big go at us, he just said: 'Go out, win your battles and you can win the game'."

On the impact of the substitutes: "It has been the story of our season. It's not just the starting XI, it's the whole squad fighting for places. The fact that everyone keeps the belief and there is so much contribution from the bench just shows we are together as a unit and working for each other."

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham manager Marco Silva has been speaking to Sky Sports after beating Newcastle at St James' Park: "I'm very pleased, really. It isn't easy to play here against a really good side. It was well managed and it was a very physical one as well. It is really difficult to control the game against the players they have in the middle of the park, but most of the time we did it.

"One individual moment of quality from Anthony Gordon. We know the quality he has and we should have been better in that moment.

"Overall, I think playing here the way we did, we didn't let them press high like they normally do. In the first half, we lacked a bit of objectiveness and we needed to be more incisive, more proactive in our attacking line.

"What a reaction. The first 25 minutes of the second half was from a team who really knew what to do to win a game here. A great counter-attack, what a moment from ourselves.

"Overall, I think we deserve the three points. I have to praise the players for their reaction in the second half. Three points is really important - we are here to fight."

Charlotte Coates
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

"It's been the story of our season. It's not just the starting XI, it's the whole squad fighting for places," said Fulham captain Antonee Robinson to BBC Match of the Day.

"The fact everyone keeps the belief and there's so much contribution from the bench just shows we're together as unit and working for each other."

Marco Silva was spot on with his changes once again as he took off Raul Jimenez - who scored the equaliser - for Rodrigo Muniz late on.

Muniz's goal gave Fulham their first league win at St James' Park in 16 years to lift them up to ninth, just five points adrift of Newcastle in fifth as they continue on their charge for a spot in Europe.

It is almost 14 years since Fulham, under the guidance of Roy Hodgson, went all the way to the Europa League final - where they were beaten by Atletico Madrid.

But, Fulham fans may have eyes on yet another European tour next season.

Silva's side did not accept defeat today despite staring it in the face after a dismal first half display and were rewarded for their almighty efforts with all three points.

Up next for Silva's men in the Premier League is a home tie against high-flying Nottingham Forest but Fulham will be full confidence heading into that one.

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham have won three of their last five Premier League games when behind at half-time (D1 L1), recording more victories than in their previous 88 such matches in the competition (W2 D10 L76).

Antonee Robinson assisted his 10th goal of the Premier League season, the joint most of any Fulham player in a single season, which moves level with Steed Malbranque (10 in 2003-04).

Raul Jimenez scored his ninth Premier League goal of the season, with all nine goals either putting Fulham ahead (6) or equalising (3).

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Newcastle's performance

What did you make of Fulham's display?

Come back to this page on Sunday evening to find a selection of your replies

Six matches make up Saturday's Premier League action and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Nottingham Forest v Brighton (12:30)

• AFC Bournemouth v Liverpool - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Everton v Leicester City

• Ipswich Town v Southampton

• Newcastle v Fulham

• Wolves v Aston Villa (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

All kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here.

Fulham are another team I am finding very hard to predict, but Newcastle are a lot more reliable.

Yes, they were walloped by Bournemouth last time out at St James' Park, but before then they had won five in a row at home in all competitions.

Fulham are capable of causing them problems and showed that when they beat them 3-1 at Craven Cottage in September.

But I am going to go for a reverse of that scoreline here. Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon are in excellent form and they will make the difference.

Sutton's prediction: 3-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Fulham boss Marco Silva has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Newcastle (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Silva said "it is not good news" about Harry Wilson as he requires surgery and "he is going to be out for a long period of maybe 10 weeks".

• Reiss Nelson "is getting better" but is not in contention for a return yet.

• On the transfer window, Silva said: "We are trying to get a right-back and we are looking for a player in Wilson's position too. Time is not on our side, but let's see what we can do."

• He said the team "should have provided more for the attacking players" against Manchester United and it is a reminder that they have "to be strong at both ends" to get results.

• On that defeat: "So far we have been able to react to the downs. We have found answers to problems. We look at all the positives even if we don't win a game. There are areas we should quickly improve in and we've worked on that this week."

• He said his side "are really difficult to beat" and added: "We put pressure on ourselves to reach the standards we set. We have quality and we have organisation."

• On Newcastle and St James' Park: "We have an identity that we don't change whether we are away or at home. We have to play our way and with courage. It's going to be an open game as both sides will try to win."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Image source, PA Media

We asked you to tell us one thing that no one is talking about regarding Fulham.

Here are some of your comments:

Robert: We have had a great season so far but I feel we are going to be stuck as a mid-table team as we were in our stint in the early 2000s. Unfortunately our midfield hasn't been as prolific as we would have thought, plus our strikers miss a lot of chances! If we want to get anywhere we need to start seeing chances go in! Smith Rowe and Andreas have not been as good as previous years, to which they need to step it up. We need a striker and a right winger to be competitive in my opinion.

Terry: Lack of goals from midfield. Most teams in or around mid-table have a defensive midfielder who can score 3-4 screamers a season, we have no one. Sasa and Sander do sterling jobs but goals are a rarity.

Jeffrey: Fulham are one player short of being a half-decent side. There's a massive void upfront with no penetration. Sign a striker!

Robbie: We need a striker that can create their own chances. There are lots of intricate passes but with no real end product in the form of goals. A striker that holds the ball up - like Zamora - and plays others in but who is also capable of creating his own chances is needed. Jimenez is not a creator or particularly clinical enough in my opinion and maybe if we can't find a Zamora then give Muniz more game time, and show him a few Zamora clips!! Maybe Muniz and Smith Rowe can link up and have an impact?

Simon: Why is the atmosphere so bad at Craven Cottage? Is it that we've risen from crowds of 3,000-4,000 25 years ago to the Premier League and not developed a loud core group? Is it the ground? Is it too many posh fans? Or is it that, as many suspect, the club have alienated and priced out real fans in favour of tourists and corporates, chasing the merch money rather than hardcore loyal fans? The chickens will come home to roost; we didn't sell out against Man Utd so tickets went on general sale. Long-term fans are losing patience.

Jeff: Marco isn't the man to take us forward. Time after time we fall away in the second part of the season. There are poor performances against relegation threatened teams every season. I'd be happy with a change in the summer.