You could make a decent case for this summer’s transfer window for being one of the most insane ever. The Saudi Arabian intrusion into the not-so-beautiful came has threatened the Premier League’s hegemony as well as the major European leagues with the PIF-backed sides splashing the cash on every star name going. Turkish clubs have attracted a number of big names and the big money has flowed all over the place. Chelsea’s extravagance have seen them spent nearly £170m on two midfielders, Arsenal splurged more than £100m on Declan Rice, Bournemouth have quietly conducted some smart business whilst Wolves have sold a host of key players and changed their manager.

How have Fulham fared meanwhile? The Whites have been very quiet over the close season, adding just three players to what remains a threadbare squad with only a fortnight of the window remaining. There’s no doubt that Marco Silva has, like his predecessors, become frustrated with the glacial pace of Fulham’s recruitment and it is hard to agree with the prevailing view that Whites have failed to build on the momentum generated by last season’s tenth place finish.

In the Premier League, if you don’t spend every summer you run the risk of standing still. With teams winning promotion and others spending big over failing to hit their targets over the previous nine months, the top flight is in a constant state of flux. Fulham needed to strengthen in order to establish themselves in the Premier League to try and extend their stay amongst English football’s elite as Mohamed Al-Fayed did following promotion in 2001. Shahid Khan has spoken of the need to become sustainable, which requires more supporters sponsors, and revenue, as well as building the brand. On the pitch, it is vital for Fulham to avoid the pitfalls of ‘second season syndrome’: you’d expect a winner like Silva has bigger ambitions than merely staying up.

You can’t quibble with Fulham’s three summer signings. Calvin Bassey has undoubted potential, as shown by his outstanding performances as Rangers reached the Europa League final. Raul Jimenez was one of Europe’s most potent goalscorers before his shocking head injury disrupted his progress at Wolves. Adama Traore is a smart signing on a free transfer after leaving Molineux – and all three are likely to bring experience, flair and goals to Fulham – but there’s no doubt that the Whites need more before the window slams shut.

As ever, Fulham have been linked with a whole host of names but are they really the players to take the Cottagers to the next level? Are the likes of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Demarai Gray, whom we’ve apparently been close to signing for the past three weeks, better than the wingers who departed Craven Cottage last season? Neeskens Kebano showed us what a tireless winger can achieve in the top-flight. Hudson-Odoi hasn’t pulled up any trees for Chelsea in recent years and struggled during last season’s loan spell with Bayer Leverkusen. He might still have some potential at 22, but we’ve seen how wide man can flatter to deceive in a division where the fixtures come at you fast. Remember Ademola Lookman or even Manor Solomon?

Fulham also missed out on some important targets. Roger Ibanez, known to interesting Fulham over the course of the summer as a classy centre half, signed for Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League and Fred, who held that impromptu post-match meeting with Marco Silva before the Whites left Old Trafford after their final fixture of the season in May, went to Fenerbahce. The small nature of Silva’s squad means that a strong finish to the transfer window is vital – and we know how Tony Khan loves a late trolley dash.

The elephant in the room is what will happen to Aleksandar Mitrovic, who is still the subject of serious interest from Al-Hilal. The Saudi Arabian side, who flirted with Silva as well over the course of the summer, have still yet to meet Fulham’s asking price for the Serbian striker but if they do then that will deliver a huge blow to Silva’s plans. Fulham’s whole gameplan is structured around our talismanic number nine, who made the winning goal at Goodison Park on Saturday with a peach of a pass. Any sale would be something of a gamble – as Fulham would lose a proven Premier League goalscorer and have little time to find a replacement. Beto could be an option, but he appears likely to join Everton. Who else could we get? Whoever they are they will need help filling Mitro’s boots?

The calibre of signings is also vital if Fulham are to move forward. The Whites still need to strengthen our options at full back and in midfield before the start of September. We can’t afford to end up with another loan deal for Timothy Fosu-Mensah. We’ve been regularly linked with Luca Pellegrini as if the last few years haven’t happened. Acquisitions are important if only to get more bodies through the door – so thin were Fulham’s defensive resources during the Premier League Summer Series in the Stats, that without the services of Tim Ream and Tosin Adarabioyo, who is still hankering after his own move, Silva had to rely on teenage defender Luc de Fougerolles.

Silva would have wanted a pre-season with some of his new signings in order to drill them in his tactical approach and get them gelling with their new team-mates. There remains a question over how much Financial Fair Play headroom Fulham have at present, even though their summer of sensational spending in 2018 now drops off the profit and sustainability ledger. I know that pulling off big money savings is far from easy, what with agents, clubs and players playing potential destinations off against each other. Fulham also like to procure bargains by waiting until the tail end of the transfer window – but the margin for error is now scant.

The Fulham hierarchy, like the fans, have immense faith in Silva after his fabulous first two years at the helm. But matching the head coach’s ambition will prove pivotal in convincing him to commit his long-term future to the Craven Cottage project. At the moment, the Whites risk making his job much tougher by waiting until the last minute. From the outside, it seems a wholly unnecessary gamble given Fulham’s remarkable revival under Silva since he succeeded Scott Parker.