Marco Silva said that Fulham ‘have to extend’ Ryan Sessegnon’s deal beyond next season after the 25-year-old scored Fulham’s solitary goal in their 1-0 win over Aston Villa.
Marco Silva has told the Fulham hierarchy that they ‘have to extend’ Ryan Sessegnon’s contract beyond this season.
The 25-year-old, who can play at left back or on the wing, signed a new deal with Fulham to the end of the current season last week.
He then celebrated that contract extension by scoring their only goal in the 1-0 win over Aston Villa.
Roehampton-born Sessegnon struck shortly before half-time with a composed finish, after a top header from Sasa Lukic was saved well by Emiliano Martinez.
That goal was enough to secure a win, which, in turn, puts Fulham right back among the teams chasing European football.
And Sessegnon’s manager was delighted with how he played and suggested the next job will be to secure his services for even longer.
Silva told TNT Sports: “I am pleased, and what we have to do now is to extend for more years definitely.
“Because there was the option there that was triggered in that moment, but of course, the aim for ourselves is to give him a longer contract.
“He is a key player for us. When we showed the trust in him again, and the conversation I had with him two years ago, he was very down and was in a very bad spell.
“But he is still a very young player and one that represents all the values of this football club.”
Sessegnon himself has excelled at the club since he made his return from Tottenham Hotspur at the start of last season.
His goal against Villa was his seventh Premier League goal in 43 appearances since the start of last season, showing his ability to pop up with important goals.
Now, with his boyhood club looking to return to the European stage for the first time since Sessegnon was an exciting 12-year-old academy prospect in 2012, he makes it clear what his and his team’s goals are for the rest of the season.
He said: “I was really pleased [to score], I was just happy I made a good connection with the ball, tried to keep it low and thankfully, it went in.
“Europe [is our goal], a step closer to our target, three more points, it is not over yet.
“Four more games left and then hopefully we can achieve it.
“I think it should be ok, we’ll run some tests after the game and stuff like that but I am not sure, hopefully it’ll be fine.
“It would mean everything you know, at my boyhood club, to be back in Europe after so many years would be a dream.”