Fulham head coach Slavisa Jokanovic wants to ward off Premier League interest in teenage starlet Ryan Sessegnon and keep developing his talent at Craven Cottage.
Jokanovic handed Sessegnon his professional debut in the EFL Cup victory over Leyton Orient after an impressive run of performances in pre-season and the 16 year-old followed that display with an assured first start in the senior side at Leeds United on Tuesday night. Newspaper speculation has heavily linked Tottenham with a move for Sessegnon, whilst Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City are also known to have an interest in the England youth international, and Arsenal saw a bid rejected last summer.
The Serbian coach reiterated during today’s pre-match press conference that he doesn’t want to put too much pressure on Sessegnon’s shoulders and prefers to allow the youngster, who could keep his place for tomorrow’s visit of Cardiff City, to concentrate on his football.
He is a very interesting project as a player, but it is better not to put him under any pressure. He is a young player and he will participate in the future and help us. He has many years of being a player ahead of him.
It is not a question of if someone is 16 or 36. If you are ready to play football, it is not important how old you are. Leeds was the first time he played in the Championship and he did a very good job,
