Fulham club captain Tom Cairney has sent a message to young midfielder Josh King after he signed his first professional contract with the club.
Marco Silva may not have added any senior players to his squad in January, but he’ll be delighted that Fulham have acted to secure the futures of several young stars.
The club announced on Tuesday that three youngsters have signed their first pro deals.
Alongside Josh King, fellow midfielder Ollie Gofford and Portuguese youth international Bradley de Jesus all committed their futures to the Whites.
The three youngsters have yet to feature in any way for the first team, although all three have been regulars for the Under-21 sides despite all being eligible for the Under-18s.
King has earned plenty of praise for his performances this season.
He was named as one of the most exciting youngsters in the Premier League earlier in the campaign.
Fulham were also told they had one of the best young midfielders in England and he was capable of playing for a top club.
That may be the case, but King has committed his future to Fulham for now and earned praise from midfield maestro Tom Cairney.
The 32-year-old could offer a lot of expertise to King who unbelievably is half his age.
The teenager has earned international recognition with England’s youth teams but was unfortunate to miss out on the Under-17 World Cup last month.
Cairney congratulates King on signing Fulham contract
Posting on Instagram, Cairney shared a photo of himself and King together.
Fulham’s number 10 is leading the side out at Craven Cottage during the first promotion season under Slavisa Jokanovic.
King was his mascot that day and alongside the photo, Cairney said: “Congrats on your pro contract @josh.kingg10 baller.”
Fulham fans are unlikely to see Cairney and King lining up together for the first team any time soon.
King still has a lot of work to do to be considered for the senior side, although Marco Silva will no doubt be keeping a close eye on him.
He’s made more appearances for the Under-18s than Under-21s so far this campaign, but a permanent promotion to that level has to be the next aim for the 16-year-old.
He very much has time on his side, but there is nothing the fans in the Hammy End would love more than to sing, ‘He’s one of our own’ to another player that has come through the academy.