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Marco Silva has downplayed the chances of Fulham bringing in a new striker before the transfer window closes despite fresh links with Chelsea’s Armando Broja.
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The Cottagers were held to a goalless draw at home to Everton on Tuesday evening despite having 25 shots and 70 per cent possession, with the match underlining their need for more firepower up top.
Raul Jimenez leads the side’s scoring charts with just five Premier League goals, but he was forced off at half-time against Everton with a hamstring injury.
Fulham have been linked in recent days with a last-minute, £50million swoop for Chelsea forward Broja, but Silva has now played down the likelihood of any new additions.
Asked if Jimenez’s injury increases the chances of signing a striker amid growing links with a move for Broja, Silva said: ‘Okay, to be honest with you, if you ask me that I’m expecting some or very many things until the end of the market, no.
‘I was clear with you from the beginning of the window. Of course, with the decisive games we had before this one, if it was possible to do something we should have done it in the beginning of the window because we had semi-finals to play, FA Cup to play and all that stuff.
‘Of course, the board is trying to do their best. If you ask me if I expect many, many things until the end of the market then no.’
Specifically on rumoured interest in Broja, Silva said: ‘No, I will not talk about players that are not [Fulham] players. I’m not going to talk about rumours.’
On Jimenez’s injury, he added: ‘Not just him, Issa Diop came out as well. Both of them came out with some hamstring issues.
‘Let’s see how it’s going to be in the next hours and they are going to be assessed by the medical department. Let’s see how it’s going to be.
‘When you have some issues in the hamstring [that force you] to come out it’s not a good sign, definitely.
‘When you play three games in seven days, such intense games and all that stuff, you have always a risk there. In some moments it’s possible to rotate. For us, it’s not been easy to rotate some players and then there’s this type of risk you have to take.
‘If it was short before the game in terms of numbers, with some kids on the bench too, probably it’s going to be even shorter for the next one but it’s our reality and we have to keep working with the players that we have.’
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