Not even the great Baba Vanga predicted this move from Fulham who have come out of nowhere to signed Jorge Cueca (Hor-he Kwen-kah) a 24 year old, promising left sided centre back from Villarreal. The reported fee of £5.5m with another £1.5m in add-ons appears to be an absolute bargain for a player with a very bright future.
Let's pull together what we know about the Jorge Cuenca and look a bit more at his recent performances and how he could slot in to the Fulham squad.
Jorge Cuenca, born on November 17, 1999, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central defender. He began his career at Alcorcón, where his impressive performances earned him a move to Barcelona B in 2017.
After honing his skills with Barcelona's reserve team, Cuenca transferred to Villarreal CF in 2020. At Villarreal, he has continued to grow and solidify his reputation as a dependable defender, starting 28 games last season. Cuenca spent time on loan at Almeria and Getafe at, at just 24, already has over 200 senior appearances to his name. Additionally, Cuenca has represented Spain at various youth levels and will certainly be pushing for senior international honours in years to come.
Having stepped into the hole left by Pau Torres after his move to Villa, Cuenca has been impressive since getting his chance in the first team. Barcelona were linked with a return for Cuenca last summer proving that he'd really managed to find his feet after a few loan moves and he's taken great strides since then.
Statistically, and completely over simplifying the analysis, Cuenca is a more progressive passer than we've had since Tim Ream's standout season in 2022/23, he's better aerially than Calvin Bassey but not quite as good as Tosin was and he's very comfortable with the ball at his feet. It does make you wonder why a 24yr old coming starting for a team in La Liga would move to Fulham to potentially be a backup behind Bassey but maybe there's more to this with new assistant manager Gonçalo Santos a fan of a 3-4-3 formation.
On the ball, Cuenca is relaxed and will take his time to find the right pass. He's comfortable playing through the press with the ball at his feet and his passing ability suits the way Marco likes to play as we build from the back and release the wide players.
He has good strength, speed and positioning in the same manner we see from Tim Ream, able to anticipate play better than the strikers he comes up against and, at just 24, we can expect this skill to continue to improve into the future. Additionally, Cuenca is known for his aerial ability, not only defensively but also as a great threat from set pieces. His ability to be in the right place at the right time and his height (6ft3) means he wins a great number of aerial duels and scored 3 goals in 29 games last season.
"He exudes confidence and self-assuredness on the ball. He promotes a slow, relaxed playing style, while he’s typically happy to bide his time and wait for the right opportunity to play the pass rather than rush it." - totalfootballanalysis.com
As a predominantly left footed player, this likely confirms the rumours of Tim Ream's departure to the MLS to be true. Cuenca is likely to challenge Calvin Bassey for that LCB spot but can also provide handy backup at LB behind Antonee Robinson and Ryan Sessegnon, adding more overall depth to the defensive unit.
A lot remains to be seen and hopefully he'll join up with the squad in Portugal but this is the kind of depth Fulham fans were hoping for when making signings this window which, despite a slow start, is gaining some serious momentum now. If Fulham were now to nail down the signings of Trevor Chalobah, Andre, McTominay and maybe 1-2 other squad players, this would surely be the most exciting transfer window Fulham have ever had.
Related Posts
