Fulham manager Marco Silva warned the club must do everything they can to keep Harry Wilson after his eighth Premier League goal of the season beat Brighton.
The 28-year-old is out of contract in the summer and it is likely there will be offers to try and tempt him away from Craven Cottage, increasingly so following a brilliant stoppage-time free-kick that sealed a dramatic 2-1 triumph.
It was the latest twist in what is becoming a remarkable breakout campaign for the former Liverpool midfielder, and Silva acknowledged the “fight” is on to keep him on the books as the weeks count down on his current deal.
“We are in the fight, we are trying to keep him,” said Silva. “If you ask me if it’s going to be easy, I say it’s not going to be easy.
“The more he scores, many more clubs are going to be around him. This is football business. When a player goes to the end of his contract, this kind of thing is going to happen.
“I know he’s happy in our club and how much he’s enjoying the moment. It’s up to the club to do the maximum to keep him.”
Wilson, who joined the Cottagers initially on loan in 2021, has now scored in his last three league matches at home, including winning goals against Brighton and Chelsea as well as a goal in the draw with champions Liverpool.
“He’s been brilliant for us,” said Silva. “He’s on a great run but it’s from the first day of the season. He’s been able to take the responsibility on his back, to be decisive.
“We had some very good spells (in the game) but it was not our best performance. He was able to take that free-kick. I’m repeating every week, it’s the best moment of his career. Sometimes, everything comes together.”
Victory for Fulham, a fifth in their last eight league fixtures, moved them up to seventh, but it looked unlikely for most of a game in which they were second best to Brighton.
Yasin Ayari scored for the visitors in the first half with an effort from range that spilled through the hands of goalkeeper Bernd Leno, before substitute Samuel Chukwueze equalised after the break following a fine pass from Joachim Andersen.
Danny Welbeck was then denied by the narrowest possible offside call from VAR before Wilson struck at the death to win it.
“Probably a fair result would have been the draw,” Silva said. “I think it’s harsh for them to lose the game in the way they lost.”
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler reflected on an offside call against Welbeck that could have gone in his side’s favour.
“It depends on when they stop (the tape), when they say ‘now it’s the touch’,” he said. “For me it’s just objective and you need to accept.
“We controlled everything we could today. We can’t control VAR, we can’t control individual errors. We have to accept that in football sometimes errors happen.”
