Fulham have had an iffy start to the season.
The Whites are probably exactly where they deserve to be. They’ve won the games they expected to and lost the matches they deserved to.
All in all, it’s been an decent if not spectacular start to the campaign, but there is a problem brewing at Craven Cottage.
Indeed, while Fulham haven’t played badly, their lack of goal threat is there for all to see.
They’ve netted just eight league goals so far this term and their top scorer is Bobby Decordova-Reid with just two goals to his name.
The absence of Aleksandar Mitrovic is certainly being felt in west London, and writing in his column on Sportskeeda, Paul Merson has addressed this issue, while touching on Carlos Vinicius’ inability to step into his boots.
Vinicius not at Mitrovic’s level
Merson gave his verdict on Fulham’s striking issues and the £5m man.
“Fulham played nice football last weekend, but Spurs won the game 2-0. I expect something similar this time around, so I’m going for a 2-0 Brighton win. Fulham miss Aleksandar Mitrovic up front – he was their X-factor when they needed a goal. Carlos Vinicius is a good player, but he’s not of the same class and that’s where I think they’ve struggled this season,” Merson wrote.
Not Vinicius’ job
Merson is right, Vinicius isn’t at Mitrovic’s level, but, in all honesty, he was never meant to be.
Raul Jimenez was supposed to be Fulham’s first-choice striker this season, but he’s been utterly dreadful since arriving at the club. He’s barely threatened to have a shot, let alone score a goal, and his drought is a huge worry.
Of course, it’s easy to point the finger at Vinicius as he’s been here longer and has started recently, but Jimenez’s shortcomings are more worrying after Fulham brought him in to replace the Serbian this summer.