There you have it, Rodrigo Muniz stays. Weeks of saga, worry, and speculation are ended by Nikola Krstović. Great news, right? Well, it depends. Here’s why Fulham’s Muniz-based work is just beginning…
On the surface, this is absolutely massive news for Fulham Football Club. Marco Silva keeps ahold of one of the hardest commodities to find in world football-a young, developing, yet primed and ready number nine. Fulham fans get at least one more chance to see Rodrigo Muniz bag at the Bridge. Would you put it past Rodrigo slamming home a second successive Chelsea dagger? I wouldn’t. But the sad reality is this: if Rodrigo Muniz doesn’t put pen to paper on a new deal sharpish, the adulation around Muniz staying at Fulham is all in vain.
Without a new deal, Muniz staying is far worse than a Bergamo move ever could have been for FFC. In a world where PSR reigns supreme, running the risk of a player of Muniz’s age profile and already sky-high upside leaving for free would be disastrous for Fulham’s financial predicament and long-term future. Muniz scoring on matchday one opens the door to Rodrigo’s first full campaign of consistent goalscoring. If Muniz does, as I expect, put it all together, he could easily be worth £60M this time next year. Look at what Dominic Solanke went for after a singular season of consistent top-flight goalscoring at 25 years old. Rodrigo is a year younger than Solanke-can’t Muniz command a similar fee to the £65M Bournemouth received from Daniel Levy 12 months ago? If Fulham improve Muniz’s paltry £7k-per-week wages to near on 10x that, on a long-term deal, I don’t see why not.
Fulham have to have taken sentimentality out of the equation when weighing up Atalanta’s recent bid. Forget his lovable personality, cult hero status, and hot-streak scoring record, Muniz can only stay under one condition: he must sign a new deal.
Are Fulham Finally Partaking in Long-Term Squad Planning?
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Put the fact that it would avoid PSR Armageddon to one side – if Muniz puts pen to paper by the river, Fulham’s attack is primed for success for years to come. Who held the title numerous times last season for having the oldest average matchday squad in the Premier League? Fulham. All summer, I’ve maintained that Fulham have to combat our ageing squad. How do you do that? Well, keeping your young stars is a half-decent start.
Marco Silva has four significant attacking stars all aged 25 or under. An unquestionably talented, yet so far underwhelming, Emile Smith Rowe is just 25. Silva’s career redemption record would suggest Emile does turn his Fulham career around. A resurgent Ryan Sessegnon is just 25 as well, whilst the most exciting of the lot, Josh King, is just 18. Add the slowly progressing deal of potential record signing, 22-year-old Kevin, adding some Samba flair to the Whites’ predictable final-third attack, and Fulham all of a sudden have an attacking young core that goes toe-to-toe with any youthful attack in the top flight.
Rodrigo Muniz heads up that young core. Keeping Muniz around long term not only gives London’s Original a long-term striking option, permitting Tony Khan to invest invaluable funds elsewhere in the Cottagers’ squad, it will no doubt make a dent in Silva’s decision-making to stay at the Cottage beyond 2026. A King new deal, a Muniz new deal, and an addition of an exciting Samba star-it’s fair to say Fulham may finally be turning the corner towards long-term squad planning.
Muniz Staying: With a New Deal? Landmark News. Without? The Moment Where It All Went Wrong for FFC
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Or are they… well, time will tell. It all depends on a new deal for Rodrigo Muniz. That’s all that separates this breaking news being a landmark piece of long-term Fulham news, or the moment where it all went catastrophically wrong for the long-term outlook of FFC.