Fulham manager Marco Silva has urged Nigerian winger Samuel Chukwueze to transform his latest electrifying performance into a consistent push for a starting role after the 26-year-old delivered the decisive moment in Saturday’s 1–0 victory over Sunderland.
Chukwueze, who came off the bench to change the tempo of the game, was voted Royal Caribbean Legend of the Match, earning 39.29% of fan votes—well clear of second-place Raúl Jiménez (15.60%) and Harry Wilson (9.77%).
Introduced in the 64th minute for Brazilian forward Kevin, the AC Milan loanee needed only 20 minutes to tilt the game.
After teasing Sunderland’s back line with several runs, he whipped in a precise cross from the left flank, finding Jiménez, who calmly tucked the ball home to seal Fulham’s fourth league win in 12 matches.
That wasn’t his only bright moment. Moments earlier, another Chukwueze delivery had given Jiménez a golden header that narrowly missed the target, signaling the winger’s growing confidence in English football.
Speaking to Fulham’s media team after the match, Silva praised Chukwueze’s impact but challenged him to push for more.
“He was excellent. The assist was fantastic, and his energy changed the game,” Silva said. “But now we need him to start matches, to bring that same intensity for the full 90 minutes.”
Chukwueze is spending the season at Craven Cottage on loan from AC Milan, where he struggled to lock down a place in Stefano Pioli’s side.
The agreement includes a non-mandatory option to buy, with transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano reporting that the full package could exceed €25 million if Fulham decide to make the move permanent.
Since arriving in West London, Chukwueze has featured sparingly, making only five appearances—all from the bench—and accumulating just 108 minutes. Yet with two assists already to his name, his explosive cameo against Sunderland has intensified calls for Silva to hand him his first Premier League start.
For the Nigerian winger, it is an opportunity to rediscover the form that once made him one of La Liga’s most exciting young talents.
Also Read: Panic as Suspected Herdsmen Disrupt Night Crusade in Nasarawa Community
He first burst onto the scene with Nigeria’s U-17 World Cup-winning side in 2015 before rising through the ranks at Villarreal, where he scored five goals in his debut La Liga season and spent five successful years, highlighted by a 2020/21 UEFA Europa League triumph.
Chukwueze later earned a €20 million move to AC Milan following an impressive 2022–23 season in Spain that saw him rack up six goals and six assists.
But despite flashes of brilliance—one goal and three assists in his first season, followed by three goals and two assists in his second—he never fully cemented his place in the Rossoneri lineup.
Now at Fulham, his mission is clear: turn moments into momentum.
