‘I expect’ – Marco Silva makes Fulham transfer admission with deadline looming

BY DAN EVANS

Marco Silva is confident that Fulham will enjoy a busy end to the transfer window over the next few days.

The Cottagers completed their fourth signing of the summer on Tuesday, with Leicester City’s Timothy Castagne signing a four-year contract at Craven Cottage.

However, Silva is still keen to add more bodies to a squad that is now without the goals of Aleksandar Mitrovic.

“I expect the support that we need to reinforce the team the way we need, the way the club needs and the way the fans deserve,” he said.

“We need numbers definitely. We don’t have a long time to do it.”

Fulham have endured a testing summer in which both Silva and Mitrovic were both heavily linked with moves to the Saudi Pro League.

Since losing 3-0 to west London rivals Brentford on the same day that Mitrovic’s transfer to Al-Hilal was confirmed, Fulham have drawn against Arsenal despite having Calvin Bassey sent off and knocked Tottenham out of the Carabao Cup.

Silva insists that he never worried his side would continue to struggle though, praising the way that they have coped with adversity.

“One defeat is not going to change everything, even if it was a harsh one,” he explained. “You are not going to see me and my players touch the panic button. It is not our way.

“This is the reaction of a group of players that know what they are doing. The resilience they showed and the quality they showed, it is not easy to react like this after a defeat like Brentford.

“We did it in really difficult circumstances against Arsenal with 10 men, [dealing with] all of the incidents during the match. The team reacted.

“It was important for us to go through [in the Carabao Cup], and to beat a side like Tottenham is always a good feeling for players and fans.”