The mighty £25m signing Fulham will replace Aleksander Mitrovic with – according to Football Manager
After losing their best striker, where could Fulham turn? According to Football Manager 2023, La Liga
on the real world, Fulham is still looking for a replacement for Aleksander Mitrovic, but the Cottagers have already moved on the virtual transfer market.
The Serbian striker spent five years at Craven Cottage where he amassed 111 goals and 22 assists in 206 appearances, quickly becoming a fan favorite. But now that Mitrovic is no longer around, attention is shifting to the man who will take over as Marco Silva’s starting lead forward.
As the virtual Silva searches for a replacement striker in La Liga using the world’s most popular football management simulation, Football Manager 2023, we can observe how the Cottagers are expected to do without their previous goalscorer.
Silva beat out Aston Villa, Everton, and Manchester United to sign the 17-times capped Spain international in a £25 million deal, and he made an immediate impact. Villarreal star Gerard Moreno was persuaded to leave life in the Yellow Submarine for a move to the Premier League.
A debut from the bench – but goals and starts soon followed
Surprisingly, Moreno played in four of Fulham’s first 13 Premier League games, and they only suffered one defeat. They only won three of those games, which significantly slowed down their momentum as they evolved into the draw experts with nine draws. The two goals Moreno scored that gave his team the three points against Aston Villa and the winning goal in a 2-1 home triumph over Chelsea in west London stood out for him.
A slump in form for Moreno and his side
By the time Moreno recovered to take his position in Silva’s team ahead of a Boxing Day trip to Brighton and Hove Albion, that run of form had brought Fulham to the brink of a relegation battle.
New year, new promise
Fulham’s record improved after the £25 million player returned, as Moreno scored in victories over Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest and Championship club Preston North End in the FA Cup’s third and fourth rounds, respectively. In a league match at Craven Cottage, the striker also scored, condemning Spurs to a 3-2 loss. The month of February started with another goal in another 3-2 victory, defeating Everton at home.
Toffees revenge but an unbeaten run saves the season
Moreno scored in back-to-back league games as his team fought to a share of the spoils in draws with Liverpool and Brighton after watching from the bench as Fulham advanced to the FA Cup quarterfinal with a victory against Blackburn Rovers. His goal in the FA Cup quarterfinal, however, was not enough to advance his team to the semifinals as they lost 3-1 to Everton just a few weeks after defeating the Toffees at Goodison Park.
As the final six weeks of the season drew near and they were still worried about being relegated, Moreno found his form and helped the Cottagers move into the safety of mid-table with victories against Brentford, Crystal Palace, and Nottingham Forest as well as a brace in a 5-0 thrashing of Bournemouth.
A late equalizer against Manchester City and a goal in a 2-2 draw with Arsenal on the last day of the season brought an exciting first year in West London to a successful conclusion. As a result, Moreno finished the season with 36 appearances across all competitions, 18 goals, and 2 assists.
