Alex Iwobi opens up on Fulham move, vows to repay Marco Silva faith | OneFootball

Nigerian midfielder Alex Iwobi has credited Fulham manager Marco Silva as the primary reason for his summer move to Craven Cottage.

The 27-year-old departed Everton for London for an undisclosed fee, although it is widely believed Fulham shelled out around £22 million to secure his services.

Iwobi has made seven appearances across all competitions and opened his goalscoring account in the 2-1 victory over Norwich City in the League Cup third round.

Since joining the Cottagers, Iwobi has been eased into action and only completed his first 90-minute match in the 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion over the weekend.

The Nigeria international was at the heart of Fulham’s equaliser, winning the ball back for Joao Palhinha’s second-half strike at the Amex Stadium.

“He’s [Silva] the one that actually got me to Everton,” Iwobi told Standard Sport. “I did speak with him, and he has a lot of faith in me.

“For a player to have that trust and confidence from the manager allows you to go and express yourself and play with freedom. I just need to repay the faith.

Assessing Sunday’s point at the Amex, Iwobi added: “The second half was a much better performance — we came at them a bit more. It was a well-deserved point.

“We did expect them to have a lot more of the ball. They are very good with the ball and a possession-based side. But maybe the attitude [from us] in the second half was better, compared to the first.”

Fulham visit Championship high-flyers Ipswich Town in the League Cup fourth round on Wednesday before hosting Manchester United on Saturday.

“It’s going to be a very hard week, we’re going to need the whole squad,” Iwobi said.

“They’re [Ipswich] doing very well, so we’re going to analyse them and do what we can do to beat them. The next couple of games, we know it’s not going to be easy – it’s going to be hard.”