Marco Silva has described Emile Smith Rowe as a “statement signing” for Fulham and said that he is determined to help the former Arsenal academy graduate reach his “best level” again.
Smith Rowe joined Fulham from earlier this month in a club-record transfer from Arsenal, with the deal worth an initial £27million and then a further £7m in performance-based add-ons.
Smith Rowe came through the academy at Arsenal, joining the club at the age of 10, but Silva said that while it was difficult for him break ties with his former club, it was his willingness to embrace the “project” at Fulham that persuaded the Portuguese coach to push for his signature.
“The things that pleased me and made me fight to have him with us was first his decision to leave Arsenal,” said Silva. “You know how long he has been there. That’s not an easy decision to take.
“But when he started to think about it —and in our conversations we were clear with him about what we are going to expect from him, talking about our project — the main thing for me was to feel the desire from Emile to come to our club.
“That made me push and convince our board that he is going to be the right guy to have here. I knew it would make the fans love him. It’s a statement for us to go for him.
“I know last season was tough in terms of minutes played. But he’s a top top talent, and we want to make him play at his best level again. If he plays at his best level, he’s going to be a great player for us.
“His desire to come to our club, and the patience that he showed to wait for us, for the agreement between the clubs, was top drawer in my opinion and when I see a player with this talent, this type of desire to come to our club, it made me to fight even more.”
Fulham begin their Premier League campaign against Manchester United on Friday night.
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