Samuel Chukwueze wants to turn his loan at Fulham into a permanent move this summer.
The Nigerian winger smashed in his first two goals for the club in Tuesday evening’s memorable battle with Manchester City that saw the Whites almost complete an incredible comeback, hauling themselves from 5-1 down to lose 5-4 in the end.
It adds to the assist he claimed for setting up Raul Jimenez for the winner against Sunderland on November 22 as he starts to showcase his talent in English football.
Chukwueze, 26, is on loan from AC Milan until the end of the season. He only signed on transfer deadline day in the summer and has been playing catch-up ever since.
Missing month
But he is steadily growing in influence at Fulham and is already eager to stay once the temporary deal expires in May.
Silva has been glowing about the Nigeria international but has also warned the player needs to maintain his work rate to secure a long-term deal at Craven Cottage.
Fulham will also lose him for the Africa Cup of Nations later this month with Nigeria kicking off their campaign two days before Christmas.
The Portuguese said: “I am very happy with him. He had a good impact on the game and I’m very pleased for him. I would have preferred to have had Chukwueze earlier in pre-season.”
Milan stance
Milan are happy to sell Chukwueze but would command a fee of around £20million.
Silva was critical of his Fulham transfer department for not being aggressive enough in the last transfer window.
In addition to signing Chukwueze they also brought in reserve keeper Benjamin Lecomte and splashed a club-record £34million on fellow winger Kevin.
But Chuwkueze’s recent displays have captured the attention of the Fulham fans and the player is determined to make the most of his opportunity to break into English football.
Confident Whites
Even though Fulham ultimately lost to City, Chukwueze’s second half goals symbolised the rising levels of confidence in the team.
They had won back-to-back Premier League games before their narrow reverse against Pep Guardiola’s team. They were still applauded off at the fine whistle despite the defeat.
Fulham are at home to Crystal Palace this Sunday and Chukwueze is pushing for more first team game time.
He was also credited with an assist for Ryan Sessegnon in Fulham’s 3-1 defeat at Bournemouth in October.
Chukwueze began his career in Spain with Villareal before moving to Italy with Milan in 2023.
Be the first to comment