Joachim Andersen has revealed that his return to Fulham came as something of a ‘surprise’ but believes he will be able to help the Whites progress under Marco Silva.

The popular Danish defender completed a £30m move from Crystal Palace this afternoon and is looking forward to pulling on the Fulham shirt again – having enjoyed a season in SW6 on loan in 2020/21.

Andersen told FFCTV that Fulham felt like ‘the perfect fit’ for him at this time in his career:

“It came as a surprise to me as well. I heard a couple of weeks ago that Fulham was quite keen on bringing me back and it was a difficult decision. I had many, many talks with Palace and with Fulham about what to do [and] with my feeling. In the end, I had a really good feeling. I had three really, really good years at Palace, I have lot of respect for them, a lot of respect for Steve [Parrish] and Dougie [Freedman] but, in the end, I needed to think about myself, what was best for me and I feel like this is the best move.

“I had some good talks with the manager and, of course, I knew the club. I knew how Fulham were playing, I know many of the players and I know some staff. It’s not because I needed to talk with the coach or anyone at the club to convince me – I knew a lot of things already. I know the playing style he likes to play. It was really just a decision I had to make, with my wife and with my family and I feel like it is a really good step for my career.

I had a fantastic year here. I loved to be here, I really love the club and I think it also means something in my decision making, that I know how much this club did for me. I enjoyed my time here and hopefully I can now get a lot more years to enjoy. It was a tough season, I thought we had a decent team, we had some really good players and played some good football but, of course, the relegation was hard. As captain of that side, I always felt a little more responsible. It was a strange season – there was no fans at all. I felt that I had quite a good relationship with them. I felt a lot of love from them, through socials and walking on the street. I can’t wait to play in front of them.

“I think [Fulham’s progression] has been a really good process. I think they are doing really well with the new manager. He’s playing some good football, which is something that I appreciate a lot. It’s something that fits my style and something that I think I can help the team with. For me, that’s the most important thing when I look at a club – I need to see how they play and how I can fit and how I can help the team. I think it’s a perfect fit.

I think the style suits me really, really well. I’m just happy that the manager thinks I can fit in the team and also I see myself having a good impact on the team, hopefully. I’m just looking forward to getting out there and playing. It’s nice to see the boys again, it’s always good to see some familiar faces and they are really good guys.