Fulham fans were treated to some brilliant news last night when the club announced that goalkeeper Bernd Leno had signed a new contract.
The club announced that the German international had signed a deal that would see him stay at Craven Cottage until 2027 with an option to extend his contract by an extra year.
It’s a huge boost for Fulham who are on the up right now after a difficult start to the season.
The summer saw plenty of speculation around some of Fulham’s biggest stars, with Aleksandar Mitrovic eventually being sold to Al-Hilal.
However, even though Joao Palhinha narrowly missed out on a move to Bayern Munich, he put pen to paper alongside Harrison Reed in September.
An arguably even bigger signing was made the following month as manager Marco Silva committed his future to the club.
The Portuguese turned down some huge offers from Saudi Arabia in the summer and will be desperate to build on his success over the past two seasons.
Silva will be delighted that his first-choice goalkeeper Bernd Leno has signed a new contract, especially after his recent performances.
He was sensational last season after joining from Arsenal and he comes into this weekend with back-to-back clean sheets.
Fulham stars past and present delighted with Leno’s new contract
Posting on Instagram to celebrate the good news, Leno said: “I‘m happy and proud to extend my contract and enjoy even more special moments at the Cottage.”
Defender Tosin Adarabioyo, who is yet to concede a goal since coming back into the side simply replied: “LENOOO”, while Fulham cult hero Neeskens Kebano called him the “Berlin Wall”.
Fulham know they need to continue building on the success of the past two years under Silva and committing Leno to a new contract is a step in the right direction.
The German goalkeeper appears to be very settled at the club and a popular figure among his teammates.
Last season, only Liverpool star Alisson had a higher post-shot expected goal minus goals allowed stat, essentially meaning that Leno made way more saves than he should have.
This will come as no surprise to anyone who watched Leno last year as he made save after save that he had no right to.
The January transfer window is hopefully going to see some movement at Craven Cottage but a goalkeeper won’t be on the agenda any time soon.
Instead, Silva will want reinforcements in midfield and attack that will hopefully cement the team’s place in the top half of the Premier League.