Who is Gonzalo Garcia, why are Fulham so keen on him?

Fulham have returned to the table for Gonzalo Garcia this summer, and according to some reports, could even land the Spaniard for around £30 million.

It has been a summer of sagas for the Cottagers, with most ending in disappointment, frustration and a slight impending sense of doom. 

Marco Silva turning down the contract offered to him by the club in favour of a move to Benfica felt like a big blow at the time and could feel even bigger once the season gets under way.

The loss of both Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez may too be felt strongly once the football truly gets going.

Managerially, there were several setbacks, with a whole host of managers turning down the job.

But the appointment of Alvaro Arbeloa as Silva’s replacement may have done enough to turn things around.

That is not necessarily due to his footballing tuition; we are yet to get a true idea of what Fulham can really expect from Arbeloa, even after the 2-0 defeat to Norwich.

But what Arbeloa could bring is Garcia.

And that could be hugely important for the future of the club.

It sounds dramatic to suggest that and perhaps slightly premature in the case of Garcia to suggest he can solve all of Fulham’s problems.

But he proved under Arbeloa, primarily for Real Madrid Castilla, but also for the senior team that he can score goals.

And that is the one thing Fulham need more than anything - a guaranteed source of goals.

Wilson scored 10 goals in the Premier League last year, he is gone.

Jimenez scored nine, he is also gone.

Fulham’s next top scorer? Alex Iwobi with four goals.

Garcia managed 25 in 36 Castilla appearances under Arbeloa in the 2024/25 season.

He managed six goals in 30 appearances in La Liga last campaign, with the majority of those appearances being minutes off the bench.

Garcia scores goals and that is why Arbeloa, and as a result Fulham, are so keen to bring him to Craven Cottage.

Fulham have lost their two best goal scorers.

At the moment, it will be Rodrigo Muniz, whose last Premier League goal was almost 12 months ago, and Oscar Bobb, who failed to score at all in the league last season, who slot into those positions.

Some Fulham fans are genuinely worried about the possibility of relegation.

A signing of a player capable of scoring goals when given the chance should help to allay that fear, now Fulham need to actually get the job done.