Fulham vs Sevilla
Most of the glamour Club Friendly encounters to date have been in America, but here is one right in a rather different setting to capture the imagination.
For both Fulham and Sevilla are clubs who have enjoyed their fair share of memorable moments in recent years so we can rightly anticipate some SBOTOP Club Friendly 2024 highlights in Portugal on Monday night.
Talking Points
This will actually be the first ever meeting between two clubs who have punched above their weight and are now hoping to do the same again as they gear up for the start of a new season.
In West London, they have certainly produced some unsung heroes over the past two years, led by astute manager Marco Silva. They followed up a 10th-place top-flight finish with 13th-place finish last term, when one of Silva’s main tasks was to find a replacement for the goals of Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Naturally, it took a while, but the emergence of Rodrigo Muniz in the second half of the campaign helped fill the void as the budding Brazilian became one of the hottest commodities in the Premier League and the focal point for Silva’s attack.
No sooner had one area gone some way to being remedied than Fulham have lost another key man with the departure of midfield star Joao Palhinha to Bayern Munich.
To their credit, the club has used some of the funds from the sale of the Portuguese man to bring in a player of real talent, and this week announced the capture, from Arsenal, of midfielder Emile Smith Rowe for an initial £27 million with the potential of £7 million in add-ons.
A club record signing for the Cottagers, he has a decent Premier League return of 12 goals and nine assists in 80 appearances, so the fee seems slightly modest, even in these slightly more confused times.
An academy graduate at the Gunners, where he dropped down the pecking order behind Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka, he has three England caps, the last of which came in 2022.
After the Cottagers’ 1-0 friendly victory over Benfica on Friday night, a match also played in Portugal, Smith Rowe could be set for his debut alongside teammates who have some real talent.
Amongst them is last season’s Fulham Player of the Year, Antonee Robinson, who has flourished under Silva to the extent that the 26 year-old USA international is now widely regarded as one of the best left backs in English football.
Behind him as the last line of defence is goalkeeper Bern Leno, an £8 million recruit from Arsenal two years ago and someone who has proved to be a commanding last line of defence and a brilliant shot stopper.
One other arrival that caught my eye and could turn out to be one of the best deals of the summer is the return of Ryan Sessegnon. He spent three seasons as a teenage star at the Cottage, making 106 appearances and scoring 22 goals as an exhilarating left winger or attacking left back.
He moved to Spurs five years ago in a £25 million deal, but it didn’t work out in North London, where he only made 38 appearances, spending a season on loan at TSG Hoffenheim.
What’s key is, he is still only 24. If he and Smith-Rowe shine, Fulham can soar.
What of Sevilla then?
Well, they continue to make moves in the transfer market as Sporting Director Victor Orta tries to rebuild their squad on the cheap.
The loan additions of Saul Niguez and Albert Sambi-Lokonga have been joined by free agent Chidera Ejuke, Peque Fernandez, and now former Man City and Leicester frontman Kelechi Iheanacho.
A replacement for Youssef En-Nesyri, who has headed to Turkey to join Fenerbahce, and Rafa Mir, who has joined La Liga rivals Valencia, Iheanacho netted six times and registered two assists in 25 appearances for the Foxes last season, albeit most were cameo showings.
Los Nervionenses will be hoping a change of scenery and that coach Garcia Pimienta will be able to unlock the initial potential the Nigerian has shown in stages since bursting onto the scene.
In addition, the 2023 Europa League winners could well have signed French midfielder Lucien Agoume by Monday evening.
The 22-year-old is set to move on a permanent basis from Inter Milan following his loan spell during the second half of last season.
And so, the similarities continue for two clubs that constantly seem to wrestle with having to replace their top talents with an eye for a bargain. They’re so similar, in fact, that there’s little that separates them in terms of Club Friendly 2024 odds. Both clubs deserve respect for continuing to be able to give the big boys a bloodied nose.
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