Fulham academy graduate Josh King says he is enjoying playing Premier League football with ‘freedom’ having been entrusted with the number ten role by manager Marco Silva.

The talented teenager told FFCTV that he was ‘buzzing’ after being picked to start the Whites’ first game of the season at Brighton and Hove Albion and is going into matches without fear because of Silva’s faith.

“When I found out I was starting, I was buzzing to be honest. I was really over the moon. I called my family – it was nice! The manager has put a lot of trust in me, I feel like I can play with freedom knowing that I’ve got his confidence behind me. It’s quite a nice feeling to be able to just go out and express myself on the pitch.

I definitely enjoyed it, the main thing I tried to do was play with freedom … go at it with full force. It was a good match-up against [Carlos] Baleba … he’s a good player, it was a good challenge. After 20 minutes, they started to go man for man and it became a little bit more difficult. It was a good start and hopefully it is something that I can build on.”

The eighteen year-old, who signed a new contract with the Cottagers this summer despite interest from other English clubs as well as European sides, felt Fulham were good value for the point they gained thanks to Rodrigo Muniz’s stoppage time strike.

“I think we worked really hard throughout the game. We probably could have created a few more chances but I think it was quite an even match and we deserved the draw. All credit to the fans … the support [they gave us] was unbelievable. Hopefully we can have a similar atmosphere at the Cottage [on Sunday] against [Manchester] United.”

The England youth international is excited by the prospect of taking on Ruben Almorin’s men this weekend in Fulham’s first home fixture.

“They’ve bought quite well, some big players, big names. It will be a really nice test for us. It’s probably a good time to play against them. As a team, we’ve gelled quite well … the team has stayed quite similar over the last one, two [or] three seasons. That might help us out … because they may not have gelled as well as we have. It’ll be a good test, I definitely think we’ll pull through.

Last time out, we warranted a draw at least. We will go in with full confidence. We finished higher than them in the table last season. We’ve had a good pre-season, it’s just about building on that Brighton performance and hopefully scoring some goals I’m buzzing for it. It’s what you dream of as a child – to be playing in front of a packed Craven Cottage against a big team like Manchester United. It’ll be such a nice occasion for me and my family to experience.”