Signed from Standard Liège in early July for just over £2m, Ibrahima Cissé is slowly but surely finding his feet at Craven Cottage, sporadicly starting for Fulham in the league and prominently featuring in the cups.
Slavisa Jokanovic appears to be easing him in to English football, a stark contrast to what he was used to in Belgium, which the player admitted in an interview with Le Soir on Friday.
Speaking to the Belgian newspaper, the defensive midfielder opened up about various topics, including why he chose Fulham and his reasons for leaving his home country.
He said: “I still need to get used to this league’s rhythm that consists of, mostly, teams who have played in the Premier League. You don’t have time to think on the pitch here, it goes that quickly. That’s what I needed to progress”.
Admitting that he chose Fulham because of its location (London), Cissé is making sure he doesn’t rush anything, wanting to eventually become a key cog in Jokanovic’s plans.
“That time will come. I feel like they trust me here and that everything is coming together nicely”.
Already wanted by Fulham back in January, the young midfielder saw a move to Craven Cottage collapse towards the end of that window, blocked by Standard Liège, which played on his mind for a while, feeling like there was a lack of respect from the Belgian side, choosing a centre-back to play in his stead.
With 10 U21 caps for Belgium under his belt, Cissé hasn’t given up on playing for his country’s first-team in the future, but he understands that before this happens, he will need to help Fulham return to the Premier League to get the necessary exposure.
If that doesn’t happen, he has the chance of being able to fall back on playing for Guinea, who have already enquired about his availability.
First, however, it’s all about breaking through at Fulham.
