Story by
Fulham's disappointing start is concealing one of the most underappreciated players in the league
- Story by
- Fulham's disappointing start is concealing one of the most underappreciated players in the league
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Credit: Getty Images
The trouble with the streets is they don't know what they're talking about.
The streets are a poor judge. The streets forget better players than they remember. Football needs entertainers but there's a difference between a show pony and a true star. The real ones don't need apologetic social media validation because their impact speaks for itself.
Advertisement
The streets remember players because nobody would remember them if they didn't. The streets will forget Alex Iwobi because the streets are coated with the cast-off chewing gum of fools.
Alex Iwobi isn't flash but stability is a superpower
Iwobi scored his first goal of the season against Hull | Credit: Getty Images
In a season of change at Fulham , Iwobi's re-emergence could prove an important development. The Cottagers were a steady proposition for almost five years under the leadership of manager Marco Silva , an eternity in the modern game, and are navigating the aftermath of his departure to Benfica.
Replacing Silva with Alvaro Arbeloa was a gamble. Even if it plays out in Fulham's favour the early days were bound to be rocky, but after two draws and four defeats in the Premier League , there it was: Iwobi scored the only goal in a 1-0 Fulham win, their first of 2026/27.
Advertisement
Consecutive 1-0 wins over promoted opponents do not a smoother path make, but it's better to beat Hull City and then Coventry City than not. Iwobi was at the heart of those victories, leading by example as he has since he joined Fulham from Everton three years ago.
Fulham's slow start is masking Iwobi's consistent ability to show his teammates how it's done. In terms of an understated positive influence on his team, the 30-year-old is one of the most overlooked players in the Premier League.
He was a big part of the reliable outfit Silva's Fulham became and the same traits are starting to emerge on Arbeloa's watch too.
Iwobi is a player of experience and assuredness, and his value is best understood over months and seasons than match by match.
Advertisement
He's not a highlights player, nor social media fodder, nor the kind of unsung conductor who eventually gets his recognition. He exists somewhere in between.
Iwobi is a player the streets might forget in error | Credit: Getty Images
Iwobi leads Fulham by example year after year
The Nigerian international is averaging more key passes per match in the Premier League than any other Fulham player so far this season. Only Oscar Bobb is creating more chances per 90 minutes than Iwobi, and the difference is wafer-thin at most.
Iwobi leads his team for both crosses (with the second-highest success rate) and through balls and has the same expected assists (xA) value per 90 minutes as Manchester City's Rayan Cherki . Only Phil Foden is above them.
Advertisement
He has Fulham's highest number of successful passes in the attacking third and sits 12th in the Premier League. He's one of a handful of Fulham players with a pass success rate above 90 per cent.
Shea Charles can outrank him on a few measures. Josh King can outrank him here and there. Bobb, too. But Iwobi's immutable superpower is that he shows up at or near the top of ranking after ranking after ranking, and he does it every year.
In May, when Iwobi returned from a hamstring injury that had kept him out for a month and was therefore the longest absence he's ever had as a Fulham player, his manager explained his importance.
Iwobi is a 'big player' for Fulham | Credit: Getty Images
"He's a big player for us, definitely," said Silva in one of his final press conferences as the Fulham boss. "He's a player who's very versatile, who can play in many different positions. He's also a player that can add extra quality in the decision making.
Advertisement
"In all aspects of the game he's a key player for us and he's shown it again this season."
Silva's appointment as Jose Mourinho's successor at the Estadio da Luz was already in the post by the time those words of praise tumbled from his lips in West London. Football can sometimes be guilty of underestimating the tumult such a change can create when a manager has been in place for such a long time.
Fulham need Iwobi's stable input this season more than they have at any other time since he followed Silva to Craven Cottage.
Arbeloa needs him to lead the way along with the likes of Harrison Reed, Kenny Tete, Sander Berge, Timothy Castagne, Antonee Robinson and captain Tom Cairney to set the example for Bobb, King, Charles, Kevin and the manager's trio of young Spanish prospects to follow this season and in the seasons to come.
