Fulham take on Chelsea at Craven Cottage on Super Sunday
Wednesday 27 February 2019 08:01, UK
Ryan Sessegnon's season has not gone how he hoped but he remains a precocious talent and that should not be forgotten, writes Adam Bate.
When Maurizio Sarri recently claimed that no 18-year-old English player in the Premier League had made more appearances this season than Callum Hudson-Odoi, the journalists in the Chelsea press room were soon scrambling for the figures. One name immediately sprung to mind. Ryan Sessegnon has now featured 27 times for Fulham this season.
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There was such a buzz about the 18-year-old last season. It was Sessegnon who provided the clever assist for Tom Cairney's play-off final winner at Wembley. He was named as the Championship player of the season, became the first second-tier player to be shortlisted for the PFA young player of the year award, and was even tipped to go to the World Cup.
The teenager himself remained calm - "I haven't made it as a footballer," he insisted in the summer - but expectations were inordinately high coming into his first Premier League season. The learning curve has been steep. He was dropped to the bench just two games into the campaign and lost his place again four matches into Claudio Ranieri's reign.
Against West Ham on Friday evening there was more criticism as he twice lost 6ft 4in centre-back Issa Diop from set-piece situations as Fulham's defensive weaknesses were ruthlessly punished. Ranieri had seen enough, hooking Sessegnon at half-time. The youngster has now started only two of the last six games and not come out after the interval in either of them.
All of which can lead to some damning assessments in this increasingly reactionary world in which every disappointment is conclusive and every setback is held up as evidence of a fraud exposed. As early as September, in an interview with Sky Sports, former Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic appeared to anticipate this harsher spotlight on Sessegnon.
We must be calm with him and give him space to grow up. He's a little bit more experienced now but there's huge space for him to reach his best level.
"It is a new experience for him," Jokanovic told Sky Sports. "He has come from one level to another. It's not time to rest, it's time to continue this learning process. He must understand the difference between the Championship and the Premier League. It's a huge experience for him, all the minutes that he is getting. We must be calm with him and give him space to grow up. He's a little bit more experienced now but there's huge space for him to reach his best level."
As criticism mounts, perhaps it is a good time to reflect on just how rare it is that Sessegnon is doing what he is doing in the Premier League right now - even in that 45-minute outing against West Ham. After all, it was Sessegnon's measured cross from the left-wing that was diverted into the net by Ryan Babel to give Fulham the early lead at the London Stadium.
That was Sessegnon's fifth Premier League assist of the season, more than any other teenager in the competition. He has also scored more goals in the competition than any other teenager this season, with his first-half equaliser against Cardiff in October being the first Premier League goal by any player born this side of the millennium.
Expand the comparison beyond these shores and scan Europe for teenagers making a similar impact and the list is not much longer. Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho has more assists in the Bundesliga, while Moussa Diaby of Paris Saint-Germain can match his tally in Ligue 1. There is no teenager in La Liga or Serie A with even four assists let alone five.
As for combined goals and assists, there are three teenagers currently playing in any of the five major European leagues who can better Sessegnon's impact this season in terms of numbers. They are Sancho, Lille's Rafael Leao and Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz, already a Germany international. All play in more advanced roles than Sessegnon is at Fulham.
Dortmund are also top, Lille are second and Leverkusen are seventh in their respective leagues. None find themselves in the relegation mire like Fulham. It only emphasises the fact that Sessegnon has not had it easy this season. It has been a huge challenge. And so, it's well worth remembering that he is a young talent who will be better for this experience.
