By Zach Lowy
Quick ahead a 12 months, and Alex Iwobi is in the most effective type of his life for Marco Silva’s Fulham, who occupy tenth place. Iwobi sits atop Fulham’s squad for Premier League objective contributions (10) alongside Raúl Jiménez, in addition to huge possibilities created (7) alongside Adama Traoré. He’s created 43 possibilities – six greater than some other participant – and he (7.41) is the second-highest-rated participant of their squad after Antonee Robinson (7.50) in response to the FotMob participant scores.
After becoming a member of Fulham for £22 million in September 2023, Iwobi shortly established himself as a dynamic attacking risk with six targets and two assists in 33 appearances. He’s already outdone final season’s tally, racking up seven targets and three assists in 26 matches for the Cottagers.
“Following the departure of Willian, Fulham wanted a midfield conductor and maestro, and it’s Iwobi quite than big-money signing Emile Smith Rowe who has stepped into this position,” acknowledged Fulham tactical analyst The Cottage Tactico. “Past the dribbles, passes, and pictures, he’s trusted by Silva to execute his sport plan and patterns. The belief Marco Silva has in him is such that he’ll typically play a number of positions in a single sport, together with his location on the pitch figuring out the place Fulham focus play, be it on the left, proper or within the center.”
Willian’s departure has freed up area for Iwobi to develop into the group’s chief playmaker and take his sport to the subsequent stage at Craven Cottage. Whether or not it’s carrying the ball from one penalty field to the opposite or slicing by an internet of opponents with a lofted move, Iwobi is able to making the distinction within the closing third and swinging the tide of occasions within the blink of an eye fixed. He’s adept at advancing possession from the center third to the ultimate third, boasting the bodily prowess and technical finesse to jostle opponents while maintaining the ball glued to his toes, and he has the imaginative and prescient to unleash Antonee Robinson’s overlapping runs down the left flank with an inch-pefect move. Iwobi continually has his head on a swivel, in a position to detect the slightest intervention from an opposition participant and shortly shuffle the ball onto his different foot with the intention to keep possession.
Furthermore, Iwobi’s versatility, intelligence and decision-making have enabled him to deputise in quite a lot of positions while avoiding the ‘Jack of all trades, grasp of none’ tag. The Lagos-born technician has delivered his finest kind on the left aspect of assault in Silva’s 4-2-3-1 formation, however he’s additionally been utilised in a number of different roles, be that slotting into central midfield to assist Fulham address Newcastle’s bodily imposing midfield, or filling in at proper wing-back and enabling Traoré the liberty to run riot towards Manchester Metropolis. He’s a group participant who has the defensive acumen, work price and bodily mettle to do the soiled work and chip in out of possession in a means that different attacking midfielders merely don’t have of their locker.
“He’s been our greatest participant this season,” stated Jack Collins, co-host of the Fulhamish podcast. “Iwobi is a multidimensional attacking risk – once we see him in several positions, he’s not simply doing the identical issues from completely different angles. On the left wing, he’s taken up Willian’s position from final season by reducing inside and permitting Robinson to overlap, however when he’s enjoying on the appropriate, he can nonetheless ship a harmful cross into the field. He’s altering and adapting his sport to finest fulfil the wants of the group, and I feel that’s what’s elevated him this season from being a very good squad participant who begins most weeks to being the primary title on the sheet to being Fulham’s artistic fulcrum.”
Iwobi is proving indispensable for Fulham – solely Calvin Bassey, Bernd Leno and Robinson have performed extra minutes within the Premier League – however pretty much as good as he’s been this season, his significance is highlighted much more when he’s not on the pitch. Fulham don’t have one other participant of their roster who can thread the needle and unlock a deep block, who can entice rivals, release area, and discover their unmarked teammate with a exact by ball, and who can conjure up a second of magic when all else appears misplaced.
In distinction to different groups like Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, and Brentford, Fulham don’t have a prolific centre ahead of their squad – not since Aleksandar Mitrović’s transfer to Al-Hilal in 2023. Rodrigo Muniz (9) was their high scorer final season, while Raúl Jiménez (8) presently leads their scoring charts. As such, while his compatriots Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi are dreaming of Champions League soccer on the Metropolis Floor, Iwobi must content material himself with one more season of safely avoiding the specter of relegation.
This lack of a confirmed finisher implies that most of the golden alternatives that Iwobi concocts don’t obtain their desired finish product, and it additionally implies that Iwobi has needed to step up as a constant supply of targets. Having scored 9 targets in 140 Everton appearances and 15 appearances in 149 Arsenal appearances, he’s already racked up 13 targets in 59 appearances for Fulham.
At 28, Iwobi has cemented his standing as a veteran chief in Fulham’s well-drilled unit, a participant who steps up and delivers the products when his group wants him essentially the most, and he’ll be trying to come up clutch on Saturday in Newcastle. The final time these two sides met, Iwobi delivered a Man of the Match show, creating 5 possibilities (together with an help) and registering 3 pictures in a 3-1 win. If Fulham are to come back away with their first Premier League victory at St. James’ Park since 2009, they’ll want Iwobi to be at his sensible finest.
(Cowl picture from IMAGO)
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