Fulham had been the definition of a yo-yo team over recent years. Every promotion was followed by a relegation, that was until last season. Under Marco Silva, the Cottagers finished comfortably mid-table and are playing Premier League football for a second successive campaign for the first time in a decade.
How the team did last season
Many expected Fulham to, once again, go straight back down. You can almost understand why, too.
Aleksandar Mitrović famously struggled in the English top-flight and scored just three goals during the 2020/21 campaign. The summer business didn’t look too exciting, on paper at least. They added Willian, João Palhinha, Andreas Pereira, Kevin Mbabu, Issa Diop and Bernd Leno.
Palhinha turned out to be one of the signings of the season and he’s now being linked with £60million moves away. Willian, who signed a new deal with the club this summer, finished with a FotMob average of 7.31, the highest in the Fulham team. And Mitrović found the back of the net on 14 occasions in what was comfortably his most productive season in the Premier League.
To say it was a successful season would be an understatement. Silva guided the side to a 10th-place finish. They picked up wins over Chelsea, their first since 2006, and Brighton, and also kicked off their campaign with a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Craven Cottage.

What has happened during the summer?
At the time of writing this, Fulham have managed to keep hold of Mitrović despite strong interest from Saudi Arabia. Silva also rejected the opportunity to manage Al-Ahli. The Cottagers did lose Manor Solomon though. The winger spent last season on loan at Craven Cottage and it looked as though he would join on a permanent basis on a free transfer. However, he opted to make the move to Spurs.
Callum Hudson-Odoi and Demari Gray have been earmarked as possible replacements and Fulham are in talks with both right now.
They have signed Calvin Bassey from Ajax in what was a surprise move. The former Rangers defender had looked set to join Brighton as an alternative to Levi Colwill but it was Fulham who made the move for the 23-year-old for a reported £20million fee.
Raúl Jiménez has also been signed from Wolves, perhaps as a contingency plan for if Mitrović does depart towards the end of the window.

What they should be aiming for next season?
It will be difficult to improve on last season’s 10th-place finish, especially when the underlying numbers painted a picture of luck rather than anything else. Only Everton and Leeds United (67) had a higher Expected Goals conceded total. Fulham allowed the opposition to rack up an xG total of 65.6 but conceded just 53 goals. That sort of overperformance is not sustainable and if they’re as open as that defensively again, they are going to struggle. Those sorts of defensive numbers are usually associated with teams in a relegation battle. It could be a case of second-season syndrome for Silva’s men unless something dramatically changes.
Prediction
15th

(Images from IMAGO)
Think you know better than our Premier League expert? Then play the FotMob Predictor Game and decide where your team will finish this season! Find the game in the More tab of the FotMob app, which you can download, for free, right here.