Fulham boss Marco Silva says he does not want to lose record signing Jean Michael Seri and expects him to play a significant role in his side’s push for promotion.
Seri had become Craven Cottage’s forgotten man, having been loaned out for the past two seasons, to Galatasaray and Bordeaux, and looked set to to leave the club this summer having failed to live up to the £27m transfer fee the Whites forked out for him in 2018.
But Silva has brought the diminutive Ivorian in from the cold and named him in his starting line-up for the past two matches, which his side have won 5-1 and 2-1 away at Huddersfield and Millwall respectively.
Fulham have an abundance of central midfielders in their squad, with neither Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa nor Harrison Reed, who were mainstays in the Premier League last season, featuring at Millwall.
Anguissa came off the bench and Reed is recovering from injury, but Silva said he is keen to keep Seri – and that the 30-year-old has indicated he wants to stay.
“Since I arrived at the club I have spoken with him and I was clear with him,” Silva said.
“He had a very good pre-season and has really impressed me in all the games he has played so far.
“He is still working hard to keep his place in the starting 11 but I am really happy with him.
“In the next few games he will improve his physical condition, he needs to play 90 minutes regularly to become fitter.
“He wants to stay and hasn’t told me anything otherwise.”