Fulham manager Claudio Ranieri has tipped Ryan Sessegnon to inject a fresh mental impetus and help haul the club out of the relegation zone.
The Cottagers are in dire straights heading into a must-win match against West Ham on Friday night and Ranieri is hoping Sessegnon can inspire a victory in east London.
Can Sessegnon be the key to survival? Five key things to know…
- Still only 18, Sessegnon has played over 100 matches for Fulham since making his debut in 2016.
- One of the fulcrums of Fulham’s promotion campaign, Sessegnon has not been able to prevent the club dropping into the relegation zone this term.
- Fulham are currently rooted in 19th and Sessegnon has not started the previous four matches.
- However, after a string of poor results, Ranieri is now hoping Sessegnon can drag the club out of the relegation mire.
- Only Matteo Guendouzi (1556) has played more minutes of any Premeir League teenager this season than Sessegnon (1462).
Sessegnon has failed to make the starting XI in the previous four matches, with Ranieri taking the more pragmatic approach in entrusting experience, with Ryan Babel having occupied the left wing position in recent outings.
However, after two dire performances against Crystal Palace and Manchester United respectively, the Italian is ready to reintroduce his talented starlet, who he believes has the mental capacity to help lift the club.
“It’s normal, 18 years old, it’s normal,” Ranieri said.
“He had a fantastic last season in the Championship. He started very well and it’s normal at 18 years old, to change the mentality, the stress, everything. Now I see him getting better and he has the chance to play.
“We need some young players who have a new mentality to change the way.”
The odds are stacked against Fulham in their battle for Premier League survival, with the club firmly locked in a relegation dogfight, sitting eight points adrift safety.
Three points against West Ham on Friday night would help reduce the gap to five points with 12 matches remaining, but the London Stadium has not been an easy place to pick up maximum reward for travelling teams this term.
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Where has it gone wrong for Fulham this season?
Former manager Slavisa Jokanovic had built a reputation for embracing a more attacking brand of football, and the club’s summer recruitment policy seemed to embody that philosophy with the signings of more neat and nimble players like Jean Michael Seri.
However, upon his appointment Ranieri called for better “defensive tactics”, a “fighting spirit” and for his players to battle like “pirates”.
“Fulham conceded a lot of goals. I am an Italian manager, and for us Italians, it’s important to maintain the clean sheet,” he said in November.
Those are not the words of a man concerned with the aesthetics of the game, but the problem Ranieri has faced since taking the helm is that he does not possess the requisite players to adopt a more robust style of play.
The summer signings of Andre Schurrle, Maxime Le Marchand, Luciano Vietto and Seri are not used to relegation dogfights, and while brilliant with the ball at their feet, will not produce the sort of hard-hitting performances needed in a basement battle.
Fulham have conceded 58 league goals, more than any other side, and while things have not gone according to plan, Ranieri still believes his players can improve defensively.
“To help the defensive line, it must be all the team. It’s a team who have to defend together and attack together,” Ranieri said.
“A lot of times, if you see the first match against West Ham, we played very well but they scored two goals on the counter-attack.
“It was amazing because we shot at goal so many times, but that is the sport, that is football.”
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