Saturday's goalless draw between Liverpool and Fulham was largely unmemorable but for one fun tidbit. As The Guardian noted, Liverpool started a front four—Víctor Muñoz, Florian Wirtz, Bradley Barcola, and Alexander Isak—that "cost almost £400 million." Pricey. And yet: "The most impressive forward on display was the Fulham academy graduate Josh King."
The 19-year-old attacking midfielder has been at Fulham since he was 8, rising the youth ranks to the senior team two years ago. After a promising 2025-26 season, he has started the new campaign with two goals in four games—and the attention of Prem rivals (including Liverpool) looking to poach the next big English talent.
Here's a primer on a budding star who's well on his way to becoming a pricey buy himself.
So King's a lifelong Fulham guy?
Yes—truly homegrown. King was born and raised in Wimbledon and joined Fulham's academy in 2015. Seven years later, at age 15, he was fast-tracked into the U18s; the next year he was a 16-year-old playing with the U21s. He broke into the first team in the 2024-25 season at 17, and signed a four-year deal the following summer. Last season, he logged over 1,300 minutes across 32 league matches, starting 15. Although he managed only one goal and two assists, King proved that he wasn’t fazed by the top level. Thomas Tuchel noticed, too—during the summer, King was called up by England to assist in their preparations for the World Cup.
This season, new Fulham manager Álvaro Arbeloa has firmly established King as part of his starting XI, and the early returns suggest that his performance is matching his potential.
What makes King so exciting?
He's an attacking mid who's always looking to drive forward—quick, direct, and tricky. Despite possessing a slight build, King is hard to dispossess, and without the ball he's an aggressive and effective presser. King has always been a creative offensive player with the speed of movement and thought to jink past defenders, and so far this season it appears he has added some finishing to his game.
But is he mentally tough?
You can't progress from the academy to the first team without being resilient, but King really proved his mental mettle last season. In the first half of a September 2025 match against Brentford—King's sixth-ever Premier League start—the teenager suffered a true head-in-hands moment when he mistakenly passed the ball directly to an opponent in front of his own goal. Brentford scored, and King was left to be consoled by his teammates for his costly error. However, King never cowered and helped Fulham come back to win, 3-1. Said then-Fulham manager Marco Silva at the time: "Football is going to test him, and the response from him was very good and I am very pleased."
What's in King's future?
Predictably, the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City are said to be monitoring King's progress. (Fulham have one point after four matches and could be in a relegation battle this season, which might accelerate King's departure.) If King continues to improve, a spot on the England squad for Euro 2028 is within reach. For now, enjoy him at Craven Cottage and catch him on the way up.
