Fulham midfielder Josh King says he’s delighted to have cemented his future at Craven Cottage by signing a new contract this summer – and is eyeing a place in the England under-21 squad.
The Wimbledon-born academy graduate put pen to paper on a new deal with Fulham last month, having been handed his debut by Marco Silva last season and made eight first-team appearances for the Whites. King, who has been capped ten times by England’s under 19s and scored two goals, told Jack Kelly’s new podcast:
I think that’s definitely my next goal. I think with hopefully a few more first-team games and a few more first-team appearances this season, it will definitely be my goal for the rest of the season. I think I’ve got to keep working and have got to keep going with it and hopefully I’ll get an opportunity with the under-21s soon.”
Competition for places will be fierce as England’s top talents battle to follow in the footsteps of Lee Carsley’s squad that secured back-to-back European Championship titles by beating Germany in Slovenia this summer. But King, firmly considered a first-team player by Silva, had no doubt about where he wanted to continue his development – despite interest from other Premier League sides and all around Europe.
“I’m delighted … it was something that had been in the works for a while. It’s definitely the right decision. It’s the place I want to be and just feels really good to sort of have that security, to have that place which I can call my second home and continue to work hard and develop as a player and a person. I can just keep looking to become a better football player.”
