Fulham

Emily Salley
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, PA Media

It was the best possible start for Emile Smith Rowe on his home debut for Fulham.

An expectation has been placed on his shoulders after becoming the club's record signing in a £34m deal with Arsenal.

So far the 24-year-old is showing glimpses he can live up to the price tag.

Smith Rowe hardly played under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal last season, making just 13 league appearances in which he failed to score.

There were no signs of rustiness, however, when he received Adama Traore's pass with a touch that set him up perfectly, allowing him to dart forward and get in front of a backtracking Leicester defence.

He took his strike early, before goalkeeper Mads Hermansen could set himself, and got his reward when the net bulged - his first goal since April 2022.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Fulham fans, have your say on the performance, external

Foxes fans, what did you make of Leicester's display?, external

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

Follow reaction and read the match report

There are seven games on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you all the action and reaction.

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*All times are BST

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week two, he takes on Make Me A Mixtape hosts Clara Amfo and Jordan Stephens.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Fulham were competitive against Manchester United last week and probably felt hard done by they didn't come away with a point.

Leicester got absolutely trounced in the first half against Tottenham. But in fairness, they were resilient, got the goal and carried a threat.

It was great to see Jamie Vardy back in the Premier League and getting a goal from Leicester's perspective, too.

But I think Fulham at home, this will be a 2-0 win.

Amfo's prediction: 2-1

Stephens' prediction: 4-0

The fact you are guessing these is hilarious because your scores are all reasonable, while I have gone for hopeful... with lots of goals.

Read the full predictions and have your say

This season, English top-flight clubs are trialling a new financial system that limits spending based on the earnings of the bottom side, designed to "protect the competitive balance of the Premier League".

Football finance expert Rob Wilson tells The Football News Show why, if permanently introduced, it could make the top Premier League sides less competitive against their European counterparts.

Watch The Football News Show on BBC iPlayer

Image source, Getty Images

Defender Joachim Andersen has said it "feels a little bit like coming home" after rejoining Fulham from Crystal Palace.

The 28-year-old Denmark centre-back has signed on a five-year deal for a fee believed to be in the region of £30m.

Andersen previously spent time on loan with Fulham in 2020-21, when he made 31 appearances and scored one goal.

He spent three years with the Eagles after joining them from Lyon in 2021 and played 113 times across all competitions.

"It's really nice to be here. Feels a little bit like coming home, so it’s a good feeling," he told club media."

"I know the club, I know how Fulham are playing, I know many players, I know some staff, so I didn't need anyone to convince me because I knew a lot of things already.

"I had some good talks with the manager. I know the playing style he likes to play, so it was just a decision I needed to make myself, with my wife and family, and see what's the best for me, and I think this is a good step for my career."

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Fulham boss Marco Silva has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Leicester City.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• New signing Sander Berge "will not be ready to start" against Leicester but will be available for the two games next week.

• He confirmed they are "very close" to signing Crystal Palace centre-back Joachim Andersen and they are hoping the deal will be official by the end of Friday.

• On Andersen: "We will be delighted with the signing. I am 100% sure he is going bring something important for us. He is going to be important this season and the seasons ahead."

• He said Berge and Andersen are "two very good solutions" to the areas of the pitch they wanted to strengthen in this transfer window.

• On their ambitions for the final week of the window: "We are going to sign a forward player, for sure. You all know that we have lost two wingers and we haven't signed any players for that position."

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

Maheta Molango, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association tells The Football News Show why he is concerned at the current and potential future financial rules in the Premier League.

Watch The Football News Show on BBC iPlayer

We asked for your views on Sander Berge, who completed a move to Fulham from Burnley on Thursday.

Here are some of your comments:

John: A good signing. Not quite the level of Joao Palhinha, however he has great physicality, gets into tackles and is also good on the ball.

Martyn: Our Scandinavian Palhinha? Or the new Hangeland? Either way, excited to see signings in before deadline day.

Matt: Obviously going to be tough to replace Palhinha but always liked the look of Berge. Not ever going to be at that level - but confident he can do a job. He's also used to scoring at the Cottage! Just a shame we've paid top dollar when we could have gone in for him earlier from Sheffield United.

Will: Great that we finally got the Joao fill-in. Not sure if he can ever truly be replaced as he was that good but this allows us to strengthen. Also shows the pull of the club and what a great transfer window we are having.

Image source, Getty Images

New signing Sander Berge says Fulham's style of play "suits" him after completing his move from Burnley.

The midfielder has joined the club on a five-year-deal having spent 12 months with the Clarets, where he played 40 times and scored two goals.

The Cottagers will pay an initial £20m for the 26-year-old, with a further £5m in add-ons.

"It feels fantastic. It's been a little bit back and forth the last few weeks, but I’m finally sitting here in the shirt in this beautiful stadium, knowing that my future is here, which feels great," Berge told club media.

"Fulham has always been a team that excited me. I've played them both in the Championship and Premier League, and it's fantastic how they play, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1.

"The DNA of the club is to be dominant, aggressive, front-footed, and play nice football, and I think that suits me."

The Norway international becomes the club's fourth signing of the transfer window, following the arrivals of Emile Smith Rowe, Jorge Cuenca and Ryan Sessegnon.

Director of football operations Tony Khan added: "Sander has tremendous experience playing in the Premier League and in international competition, and we believe that he'll be a great addition to our squad."

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham have completed the signing of midfielder Sander Berge from Burnley.

The 26-year-old has joined the Premier League club on a five-year deal for a fee believed to be £25m, with a club option of another 12 months.

What do you think of the new signing, Fulham fans? The type of player you need?

Let us know here, external

We asked you which thing at Fulham hasn't been spoken about enough this week.

Here are some of your comments:

Tim: The need for a high-quality reserve keeper. No disrespect to Benda, but If anything happens to Leno, we are in trouble!

Kamil: How do we replace Bobby Decordova-Reid? I understand it’s not exactly the biggest name we’ve lost this summer, but Bobby was one of those utility men that every team used to have and who has come in useful for us time and time again, plugging into whatever hole needed filling and always bringing industry, effort and selflessness to the pitch.

Steve: The one thing that no-one is talking about with regards to Fulham is Fulham. When we are playing one of the 'big five', if they win, it's because they were amazing; if Fulham win it's about how the 'big' team made mistakes or were unlucky or didn't perform and the analysis is still all on them. Big team bias, that's what no-one is talking about.

Dan: How good of a deal Cuenca was. Only a few million for Villarreal's starting centre-back and as a sub he could really prove to be one of Fulham's best transfers this window.

FC: Digital season tickets, what an annoyance - especially when you have tickets for family and friends!

Fulham have agreed a deal with Lyon to sign 21-year-old French forward Rayan Cherki. (L'Equipe - in French), external

The Ligue 1 side have accepted a bid worth up to £16.7m. (Mail), external

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

There is always so much noise at the start of the season and 2024-25 has been no different.

But when it comes to Fulham, what is the one thing nobody is talking about - good or bad?

Tell us here, external

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham's Andreas Pereira created more chances than any other Premier League player during this season's first round of fixtures (six).

It is the 19th time on record a Fulham player has created six or more chances in a Premier League match, with the Brazilian responsible for seven of those.

Drew Heatley
Fan writer

Never eat yellow snow, never buy a car you can’t push – and never judge Fulham in August.

The Khans have been very clear since they arrived at the club more than a decade ago that they see the greatest value in the transfer window at the very end of it. Fulham have become a staple of deadline day, often signing a glut of players, many of whom we’d been tracking for weeks. That might be great for the balance sheet, but it doesn’t do too much for efforts on the pitch.

The result is a Fulham side that doesn’t much resemble what the manager is trying to do. The midfield three that started against Manchester United on Friday was a case of square pegs in round holes. Emile Smith Rowe was the most advanced, with Andreas Pereira settling for a place further back, just ahead of Sasa Lukic who, with the greatest will in the world, ain’t Joao Palhinha. The man who eventually does replace our recently-departed Portuguese enforcer is likely to arrive on – you guessed it – 30th August.

Starting the season at Old Trafford was always going to be tricky, but the next two fixtures offer opportunities to get points on the board; Leicester visit Craven Cottage on Saturday, before we travel to Ipswich the day after the window “slams shut”.

This transfer brinkmanship isn’t about penny-pinching; the Khans have proven they’re willing to spend. It’s more about dancing around PSR and other frameworks that hinder clubs our size. We’ll end up buying player X for the £30m his club wanted from the start, only by 10pm on deadline day, they’ll accept £15m up front with the rest coming over the next few years. It’s brave, it can be frustrating, but it has worked in the past.

In reality, Fulham’s season actually starts in September.

Find more from Drew Heatley at Fulhamish, external