Well, that’s some coup for Fulham isn’ it? Jean Michael Seri, who has been linked with moves to Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelsea, on Thursday completed his move to Craven Cottage for a club-record £27m. Given the competition for his signature, for the Cottagers to land the Ivorian is a huge statement of intent.
After their return to the Premier League was confirmed in the playoff win over Aston Villa back in May, Fulham have the clash to splash. Seri may have been reluctant to make the switch to west London initially, but the financial windfall ultimately convinced the ball playing midfielder to secure a move to England’s capital. Nice may have wished to keep the 26-year-old, yet after batting away offers last summer, were better prepared to cash in on Seri this time around.
He may be a club-record capture, but Seri’s arrival is one that raises eyebrows. The player himself has a lengthy list of admirers - “I’m not used to seeing such talent in midfield anymore,” former Barcelona legend Xavi once told Le Parisien - and he seemed a perfect fit for the Blaugrana, so for Fulham to land him speaks volumes.
His possession based style of play suits a Fulham side that averaged more possession (57.8%) than any other Championship team last term. While it will be easier said than done translating that into the Premier League, Seri is a player who’ll help with the transition. Indeed, he made more accurate passes (2418) than any other player in Ligue 1 last season, to reinforce a statistically calculated WhoScored.com strength of ‘passing’, for a Nice outfit that enjoyed a similar possession return (56.3%) to Fulham.
The Premier League may be quicker than Ligue 1, yet his composure in the middle of the park will only benefit a Fulham outfit that looks to get the ball on the floor rather than implement a more direct approach. While it’ll be easier to soak up pressure and aim to hit teams on the counter-attack, head coach Slavisa Jokanovic can be expected to stick to his guns and maintain the style of football that secured Fulham’s promotion, and he has to be respected for that.
Seri, though, won’t simply be used to retain possession without looking to thread passes to the attack either, which is another strong point to his game. In the last two Ligue 1 seasons, 37 attempted through balls is the seventh best in France’s top tier. Take away PSG players, and the moves up to third behind Dimitri Payet (63) and Florian Thauvin (59), two players traditionally deployed higher up the pitch by Marseille than Fulham’s new signing.
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It may not have always paid off, but that forward thinking approach will only serve as a boost for this Fulham side. With a return of 2.1 key passes per game leading to five assists in Ligue 1 last season, the capital outfit have themselves a midfielder who isn’t afraid to attempt a pass to split a defence in half and put his side on the front foot. This eye for a goalscoring opportunity means Fulham won’t necessarily hold onto the ball for the sake of it and adds another dimension to their attack.
Having largely performed in a 4-3-3 formation for Nice last season too, Seri will be well-versed in the tactical demands of the Fulham side, especially with Jokanovic expected to keep with a similar setup for the coming campaign. However, Seri’s arrival will disrupt the established midfield equilibrium of Tom Cairney, Stefan Johansen and Kevin McDonald, with the trio key players in Fulham’s successful promotion push. That being said, improvements and an increase in competition are always welcomed and will only have a positive impact on Fulham.
With the arrival of Maxime Le Marchand also confirmed on Thursday, Seri isn’t alone in making the trip from the French Riviera to London and the defender’s arrival should help the big-money signing capture settle in the capital. What’s more, Le Marchand is familiar with Seri and the style of the play as 257 of the total passes Marchand made in Ligue 1 last season were to Seri, the second highest return at Nice.
All in all, his is a great capture by Fulham and one the certainly catches the eye. Provided he can transfer his fine club form from France to England, then the Cottagers have a real player on their hands.
