‘I didn’t want it’ – Marco Silva speaks out on Denis Odoi’s Fulham exit

Denis Odoi left Fulham to return to his homeland, Belgium and Club Brugge, on transfer Deadline Day after amassing 177 appearances for the Cottagers since the summer of 2016.

The 33-year-old struggled at times, particularly in the Premier League, but represented one figure of consistency in a very up and down period at the club.

Odoi will be remembered fondly by the supporters and the squad has lost an important senior player.

The Cottagers have a six point cushion inside the automatic promotion players and brought in Neco Williams on loan from Liverpool, also on Deadline Day, to fill the void left behind by the Belgian.

It will be interesting to see how the 20-year-old adjusts to Championship football with Marco Silva’s men expected to kick on towards the league title.

Silva explained the impact of Odoi’s exit and what he has brought to the squad when he spoke to The Athletic.

He said: “He’s a very good professional.

“You always knew what to expect from Denis.

“Sometimes a good performance, other times not so good, but always 100 per cent focused and giving everything, every single day for the shirt.

“For our fans, it is always important to have a player like him.

“As a manager, he was so involved during the season.

“He came to me in August and asked to leave the club.

“I blocked that situation, I said, ‘No. Definitely no’.

“So we didn’t expect it (this transfer) and I didn’t want it.

“In the end, we have to see the player’s situation as well.

“He was a big servant for our club, doing everything for this football club.

“We will miss him in certain moments in our season.

“We hope Neco (Williams) can offer different things.”

Odoi made 17 league starts in the first half of the season, but was mainly selected due to Kenny