Alvaro Arbeloa has praised Fulham teenager Josh King, telling the club they have an “unbelievable player” on their hands after the 19-year-old scored in the Cottagers’ 3-2 home defeat to west London rivals Chelsea.
King netted a fine goal in Fulham’s first Premier League match of the season, equalising past Robert Sanchez at his near post, but it was not enough to avoid defeat. The midfielder was Fulham’s brightest spark, starting the season well after ending last term on a high when he was one of five young English players called up by England manager Thomas Tuchel for the national team’s pre-World Cup training camp in Florida.
Arbeloa’s praise for King
“Every team needs goals, and not just from Gonzalo,” Arbeloa said after the match. “I have been talking all summer with Josh King. What a player you have here. Amazing. What a player. Unbelievable.”
“I knew his talent. But with talent and with quality for these types of players, it is not enough. They need to make numbers,” he added. “Like Josh, like Oscar [Bobb], like Cesar [Palacios], like Kevin. We have lots of players with a lot of talent, but they need to score goals.”
King’s England ambition
King scored the first of Fulham’s goals on Monday night, with the second scored on debut by new signing Gonzalo Garcia. In an interview with Standard Sport in April, King opened up on his career ambitions to represent England and spoke of his feeling of “loyalty” to Fulham, where he is an academy graduate.
Encouraging signs despite defeat
Arbeloa said he was encouraged by the number of chances created by his side, despite the defeat. “For sure. I saw tonight the energy that I want to see and the high-press that we want to make. We are going to try to play in this way, no matter which team is in front of us.”
