Fulham midfielder Chibby Nwoko has put pen to paper on a professional contract, the club have confirmed this afternoon.
The all-action midfielder, who made the move from the blue half of SW6 at eleven, shone as soon as he stepped into Ali Melloul’s under-18 side and got his first under-21 appearance off the bench against Tottenham Hotspur at the tail end of last term. Nwoko has been an ever present for Hayden Mullins’ men this term and scored a sensational goal against Leicester City.
The England youth international told Fulham’s official website:
“Signing my first pro contract is an amazing feeling and something that I’ve been working towards for a long time. It’s been a very good start to the season and I’m now looking to push on. I want to contribute to the team as much as possible with goals and assists and I want to have a consistent season.”
Fulham’s academy director Sean Cullen praised Nwoko’s desire to succeed – even whilst acing his A-Levels.
“This is a great achievement for Chibby and is the culmination of lots of hard work since joining us as an under-12. Remarkably, Chibby has hit this milestone in his football journey while also managing to complete three A-Levels. Knowing how driven Chibby is, he will be pushing hard this season to become a regular for the U21s and to have an impact at the level.”
With this and the Godo signing, I feel like the club and academy may be managing the contracts of the young players more effectively than in the past, having learned the lessons of the Fabio Carvalho episode.
In hindsight, Fabio should never have been allowed on the PL roster with less than one year remaining on his contract. When he was unwilling to sign an extension, we should have told him either sign an extension and lock in with the club, or we’ll sell you. But we’re not going to let you use the club to increase your value, only to leave us on a free.