Fulham manager Marco Silva was very pleased with midfielder Alex Iwobi after his performance against Brighton & Hove Albion yesterday.
Silva was talking to the club’s official website following a hard-fought 1-1 draw at the Amex.
The Portuguese coach made three changes following Fulham’s defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.
Despite the mistakes Fulham made at the back against Spurs, Silva stuck with the same back four ahead of Bernd Leno.
Calvin Bassey had a much more composed game which will give him confidence going forward.
It was in midfield and attack that Silva rang the changes, with Carlos Vinicius not featuring in the squad yesterday after starting last Monday.
Andreas Pereira and Sasa Lukic also dropped to the bench and were replaced by Alex Iwobi and Harrison Reed.
Iwobi arrived from Everton on deadline day in a deal that could reach £22m and already looks like a fantastic option for Silva.
His versatility is going to be a huge asset and as he showed against Norwich in the Carabao Cup, he’s got an eye for a goal too.
Silva was very pleased with Iwobi’s performance against Brighton as he survived being dragged off before the hour mark.
That’s unlike Raul Jimenez, who saw his goalless streak extended by another game and wasn’t pleased he didn’t get more of a chance to break his duck.
Silva raves about Iwobi against Brighton
Asked about how the Nigerian international fared yesterday, Silva said: “Very good performance from him, we know what he can offer for us and the energy that he can give to us is really important.
“[He’s] always up and down, never stops, he can play in many positions, today is a good example.
“He played in three different positions. He played as an eight a little bit more higher and then side-by-side with Joao [Palhinha] and then he finished as a left-winger as well.
“He has this capacity, he gives me the chance even without changes to move him in all the pitch, it’s important and of course, the most important is that he has the quality to help us like he’s showing.
“Of course, he’s showing why we signed him and why he’s with us.”
Iwobi will take heart from Silva’s comments after his performance against Brighton and will hope he can retain his place in the side now.
He replaced Andreas Pereira who was superb last season before picking up a serious ankle injury at the end of the campaign.
The Brazilian has struggled without Aleksandar Mitrovic ahead of him and with Jimenez and Carlos Vinicius failing to hit the same heights, Pereira needs to take his game to another level to get back into the team ahead of Iwobi.