Why Fulham’s Tom Cairney could set the Premier League alight next season

Fulham captain Tom Cairney has signed a new five-year deal with the club, which will keep him at Craven Cottage until 2023. This is a very good news not just for the team but also for the player who will take part in the Premier League next season.

The 27-year-old, who joined the London club three years ago from Blackburn, has scored 27 goals in 130 appearances in the Championship. Cairney netted the only goal against Aston Villa in the Championship playoff final to lead Fulham to a top-flight promotion.

He has done a fantastic job for the Cottagers thus far and signing a new deal indicates his determination to do well in the upcoming seasons. The next campaign will be about performing at the highest level and proving that he can step up to the plate in pressure situations.

Let us just take a detailed look at the player with stats to prove why he can perform well next season:

Analysis – Tom Cairney

Cairney probably has all the attributes required of a perfect central midfielder. He can receive the ball in tight areas and pick out precise and defence-splitting passes in midfield. He had a pass success rate of 91.5% and a key pass rate of 1.9 per game in the Championship last season and this speaks volumes of his qualities in possession.

The 27-year-old possesses intricacy in his game where he can link up play from defence to attack, acting as a driving force for the team. In Slavisa Jokanovic’s 4-3-3 system, Cairney predominantly plays on the right-hand side of a three-man midfield.

From that position, he can make late runs into the box and concurrently drop deep at times to survey the match situation. Cairney also demonstrates fabulous tenacity to tackle and win possession in midfield, with a success rate of 1.1 per game.

Read More: Why this 32-year-old former England international would be a perfect signing for Fulham

Conclusion

The Premier League will be looking forward to seeing such a talent on display worldwide. Tom Cairney has the ability to single-handedly drive his team on and make other players perform better as well. He is Fulham’s ‘captain fantastic’ and all the directions are heading towards him setting high standards next season.