Fulham head coach Marco Silva says summer signing Kevin Mbabu suffered from both Kenny Tete’s brilliant performances and the fact that he wasn’t the right fit for the Whites’ style.

The Swiss defender has returned to his first club Servette on loan until the end of the season having made just six senior appearances since arriving from VfL Wolfsburg. His last appearance for Fulham was at Manchester City, where he wasted a three on two opportunity for the visitors who were playing against ten men, moments before Kevin de Bruyne’s match settling spot kick.

Silva told his pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Brighton:

“Because of the competition, it was hard for him. We’ve seen the best of Kenny Tete. That’s the first reason. As he has said as well, he arrived late in the market. That’s always a problem. If you arrive late, you go into some games when you’re not in the best physical condition and you don’t know everything.

The first games for him weren’t the best. That made an impact on his confidence as well. It didn’t work out because of those reasons, and the way we want to play didn’t suit his profile. It’s a moment for him to go, to have more games, to get confidence that he needs to play at his best level. It’s not just his fault. Sometimes it happens.”