Marco Silva has revealed that he made Emile Smith Rowe Fulham’s major summer transfer target when it became clear that Arsenal would sell the England international.
Smith Rowe followed a stunning pre-season – where he scored twice in his first two games – with the opening goal in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Leicester City at Craven Cottage. The Fulham head coach reiterated the attacking midfielder’s importance during yesterday’s pre-match press conference:
“He is a rare player. We were in the market for a player with his profile; we wanted someone that can play there between the lines, can give us a little bit more creativity in that space, a player that can arrive in the box. He has the capacity to do it. We defined him as the main target for that position when we felt Arsenal was opening to selling him. We worked hard to get him in. His technical quality and creativity is what we need from a player in that position.
He knows he has to improve many things, in terms of the [pace] of the Premier League. He has to be ready to play 80, 90, 100 minutes at the same intensity. He has to do off the ball the hard work that the Premier League demands. When the player has quality and the right mindset to learn, it’s just a matter of time. He’s going to improve in all aspects.”
