Marco Silva: 'Fulham must sign five players before end of transfer window'

The Cottagers have brought in Calvin Bassey, Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez this summer, while Willian returned to the club after signing a new contract.

However, Fulham have experienced a number of exits, with five players leaving following the expiry of their contracts and three players departing at the end of their loan deals.

With the transfer window set to shut on Friday, Silva has laid out his demands to the Fulham board, claiming that five more signings are needed.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's away meeting with Arsenal, Silva told reporters «From last April, the plan was clear. It's no surprise what we need.

»We have just two full-backs in our squad — one right-back and one left-back. We need two more. We have to sign at least five players until the end of the market. We have to."

Fulham are currently looking to sign a replacement for Aleksandar Mitrovic, who completed a move to Al-Hilal in a club-record sale worth £46m.

They were recently linked with a move for Juventus striker Moise Kean, but Silva has dismissed speculation linking Fulham with the former Everton forward.

«No, Moise Kean is not a solution for us», Silva said. «I don't like to talk about players that are not our players. Moise Kean is a player from Juventus. But I can confirm he is not the player we are looking for.»

Fulham have reportedly had an initial £21m offer turned down for Flamengo striker Pedro, while they have also been linked with Atalanta BC forward Duvan Zapata.

Silva will focus on matters on the pitch on Saturday afternoon, with his side looking to bounce back from a disappointing 3-0 defeat to West London