Fulham manager Marco Silva has insisted that the chance to sign Nathaniel Chalobah was too good to turn down, and also insisted that the arrival of Domingos Quina was not a result of Tom Cairney’s situation.

It has been a strong start to the Championship season for Fulham, but despite that Silva’s side were still keen to bolster their squad further before the summer window came to an end.

The midfield area was prioritised as the transfer window deadline approach following Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s departure for Napoli. While Tom Cairney is also set to be ruled out of action for around ten months with a knee issue.

On the final day of the window, Fulham managed to bring in both Chalobah and Quina from Watford to enhance the options that they have available to them in the middle of the park.

Speaking to The Athletic, Silva insisted that signing Chalobah on a free transfer was too good a chance for him to turn down and he is delighted to work with the midfielder again.

He said: “Chalobah is a player I know very well from Watford.

“We signed him from Chelsea and he was called up by England before he suffered an injury. To sign a player like Chalobah for free, for zero, where we don't pay anything, with his quality and with his profile after losing Andre-Frank Anguissa, it was a very good opportunity for us."

He also insisted that the signing of Quina was not as a result of Cairney’s current injury issues: “I like to work with two players for each position.

"After last season we lost five, six, seven players. (Quina) was not signed because of Tom Cairney's situation. He was a good opportunity for us on the market.”

The verdict

Fulham’s late transfer business in signing both Chalobah and Quina looks to be very promising. The pair are both very capable players in the Championship and to have brought them in to add to their current midfield options means that they have an enviable group of players in that area now.

Chalobah is a player that has a lot of potential still and if it was not for injury issues there is no way that Fulham would have been able to sign him from Watford and certainly not on a free transfer.

Silva already knows how to get get the best from Chalobah and he should prove to be a major asset for them in the Championship this season.

Quina is more of an unknown quantity in that he has yet to really show his talent on a consistent basis really during his career. There is certainly a player in there for sure and Silva will now hope to unlock his best form, but he will need regular starts for that.