Fulham’s final pre-season of a torturous summer is finally here – and it feels like a real relief. We are a week away from the start of the Whites’ second Premier League season in succession – a first in the decade of the Khan family’s ownership, lest we forget – and it sometimes felt that we might never make it to Goodison Park. Marco Silva has proven quite phlegmatic in public repeating his mantra that interest in himself and his players is a natural consequence of their fine first season back in the top flight, but the mere business of preparing for the new campaign has been disrupted by agents, tittle-tattle, incursions from Saudi Arabian sides looking to lure our star players and a drip drip drip of doom and gloom.

The summer began with worries that Silva himself, the architecht of Fulham’s relentless promotion campaign that was so refreshing after the safety first football served up by Scott Parker, might decamp to the Saudi Pro League. Several pundits had gone so far as to declare Silva gone when the details of lucrative approaches from Al Hilal and Al Ahly emerged, but Silva stayed in SW6. He hasn’t gone as far as signing the new deal drawn up for him by the Fulham hierarchy because his summer has been spent persuading key players to stay at Craven Cottage rather than being convinced that the club’s ambition matches his own, but the fact that he is even in the home dugout this afternoon is something to celebrate.

The news that Aleskandar Mitrovic’s head had been turned by a Public Investment Fund sportswashing project was immensely disappointing. The Serbian striker, already a cult hero at the Cottage, was well on course to become Fulham’s finest ever goalscorer and you might have been forgiven for feeling he might owe the Whites a little bit of loyalty after they steadfastly stood by him following the events at Old Trafford. Mitrovic and his slick super agent, Pini Zahavi, didn’t see it that way – with Fulham’s talismanic number nine enraged by both the club’s valuation of him at £52m and their refusal to negotiate with Al Hilal. He has resumed training belatedly as his Saudi suitors seem unwilling to meet Fulham’s asking price, but a lack of fitness will likely mean Mitrovic watches from the stands this afternoon.

The most bizarre revelation of a ridiculous summer came earlier this week when Willian reportedly told the Whites that he wanted to join Al Shabab eleven days after agreeing to extend his contract at Craven Cottage. Fulham, who have played hardball over Joao Palhinha and Tosin Adaraioyo as well as Mitrovic during the close range, have refused to contenance allowing the Brazilian winger to pursue his ‘new project’ after they doubled their offer to ensure he committed his future to the club at Silva’s urging. The Saudi template of pursuing players and coaches with huge offers but failing to stump up the cash won’t work when the Khans dig their heels in – as they have done following Tony Khan’s trenchant suggestion that you could get away with anything ‘even murder’ if you possess enough cash.

All of this leaves the momentum from Fulham’s fine tenth place finish back in May more than somewhat stalled. Silva was not impressed to have to wait until the middle of last week to secure his first senior signings in the shape of centre back Calvin Bassey and Raul jimenez. Both could prove excellent acquisitions but the first-team squad remains threadbare, even if Fulham were unable to persuade Antonee Robinson to put pen to paper on a long-term contract after the American international’s excellent campaign last year. With their compeittors having had the summer to analyse why the Whites were so successful, remaining in the position of relying on magic from peerless professionals was not in Silva’s plans.

The Whites should get a decent work out from Hoffenheim, who remained a Bundesliga side last term after stitching together five wins from their last ten games under American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo. Die Kraichgauer‘s pre-season has been patchy with wins over Astoria Walldorf and Feyenoord followed by the surrendering of a 2-0 half-time lead to draw with Glasgow Rangers and defeats at the hands of Elversberg and RC Strasbourg. Der Blau have some experienced campaigners in the likes of former Norwich City and Liverpool centre back Ozan Kabak and the ex-Leicester winger Andrej Kramari?, with further quality at either end of the field in the form of American defender John Brooks and the Danish forward Robert Skov. Matarazzo, an American coach whose experience in Germany has seen as take caretaker charge of Nurnberg before three years at Stuttgart, will be targeting a mid-table finish at the very least but Hoffenheim will be somewhat short of a gallop still as the Bundesliga season doesn’t get underway until August 19th – when they host Freiburg at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena.

We should get an idea of how Silva will want to line up at one of his former clubs in Everton next week and this fixture should provide an ideal opportunity to give Tim Ream, who has missed the entirity of the pre-season programme as he makes careful progress following the serious shoulder injury sustained against Manchester City at the end of last season, some crucial minutes ahead of the big kick off.

MY FULHAM XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, A. Robinson, Diop, Ream; Reed, Lukic; Wilson, Decordova-Reid, Pereira; Jimenez. Subs: Rodak, Mbabu, Bassey, de Fougerolles, O’Neill, McCoy-Splatt, Dibley-Dias, Harris, Sekularac, Stansfield, Muniz.