Fulham’s narrow 1-0 win over promoted Hull City did more than ease the pressure around Álvaro Arbeloa. It offered another glimpse of the player increasingly carrying the club’s attacking promise: Josh King, the 19-year-old from Kingston upon Thames who is beginning to put end product beside the obvious talent.
King was named man of the match after making three chances and registering two shots on target, both team-high figures on the day. With Arbeloa under scrutiny, Fulham needed a performance of nerve as much as polish, and the England Under-21 international provided it. “We were very brave,” King said afterwards. “We played like a side that knew what it had to do and worked for each other. Those three points were hugely important.”
It was the sort of display his manager has wanted from the group. Arbeloa has said his players remain committed to the football he is trying to build, even in defeat, and King has become the clearest expression of that approach: willing to receive possession, drive at opponents and take responsibility in the final third.
The youngster has scored twice in 10 appearances this season, a return Arbeloa had challenged him to produce during pre-season. The manager knew the quality was there, but stressed that players of King’s kind must contribute goals and numbers as well as attractive moments. King appears to have taken the point on board.
A swift rise at Craven Cottage
Gradient Sport’s Premier League power ranking places King as the division’s most improved player compared with last season. His score has risen by 21.7 points, from 62 to 84.8, putting him second among attacking midfielders and eighth overall in the league’s ratings.
There is substance behind the upward curve. King ranks fourth in the Premier League for ball carries, with 77.6, and is sixth for shots on target, having recorded nine. For a player still in his teens, those numbers suggest a footballer not merely waiting for games to happen around him.
Arbeloa has long spoken in expansive terms about King, arguing that he possesses the ability, temperament and character to reach the highest level. Fulham’s football development director Huw Jennings has described him as the most elegant and agile player he has seen among the clubs with which he has worked.
Former Fulham midfielder Ray Houghton also sees a rounded attacking package in King, citing his pace, dribbling, vision and instinct in front of goal, while adding the customary warning that a young player must keep his feet on the ground. Bobby Zamora, part of Fulham’s 2010 Europa League final side, has praised King’s appetite for the ball and his desire to create and score.
Tim Sherwood’s assessment is similarly encouraging, though with a useful note of caution. King, he believes, has outstanding potential but must continue to develop his finishing and add further goals to his game. At Fulham, the early signs are that the young man is willing to do exactly that.
