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EPL First came a moment of palpable frustration. Fulham’s derby with Brentford was still goalless approaching the midway point of the first half when Josh King, the 18-year-old midfielder making his fifth consecutive league start, collected possession from his goalkeeper Bernd Leno. King had actively shown for the ball in his own defensive third but his first-time square pass was catastrophic, presenting it straight to Mikkel Damsgaard, who duly converted to give Brentford the lead. Advertisement King, visibly upset, threatened to crumple. At least twice before the goal, he had dropped deep and played the exact same first-time pass to move Fulham through the gears. This time, though, his radar had been skewed, betraying a player with fewer than 400 minutes of top-flight experience to his name before Saturday’s game. It was an error that threatened to undermine all the confidence built up since August. Yet the way he and Fulham responded to that early setback to win this game ended up demonstrating the true strength at the heart of Marco Silva’s setup. This is a player in whom the team have placed their trust for the present and future. Since starting Fulham’s season opener against Brighton & Hove Albion after a strong pre-season, King has become a key contributor to the side’s shape-shifting on the pitch with his relentless work-rate and clever movement out of possession, and tidiness with the ball. His contribution to the opening exchanges against Brentford, before his error, involved more of the same. He was willing to tussle with Sepp van den Berg as part of a two-man strikeforce with Rodrigo Muniz. At other times, he played as the No 10 and combined with Alex Iwobi to free up left-back Ryan Sessegnon out wide, or find pockets for Sander Berge’s delayed runs forward. He even dropped deep to give Sasa Lukic the freedom to wander forward. The willingness to do the little things that make a team tick are a big reason King is so fondly appreciated by the fans, too. It helps that he has been at the club’s academy since he was eight, and there is an eagerness for him to succeed. Even his mistake for Damsgaard’s opener brought more of a stunned silence than exasperated groans or impulsive anger from the locals. Mikkel Damsgaard takes full advantage of a loose pass and Brentford are ahead! ? pic. twitter. com/Lsc OWXw Xsb — Sky Sports Premier League (@Sky Sports PL) September 20, 2025 King initially put his hands on his head in the aftermath, but the more telling response as he walked back to the centre circle was one of anger. Iwobi consoled him, and told Sky Sports after the match that he had instructed King to “keep doing his thing”. The Nigeria international made the point that King had been “brave” to show for the ball in that position. Advertisement Iwobi’s encouragement had an immediate impact. When Fulham gave the ball back to Brentford shortly after the resumption, King pressed with intensity, forcing the visitors into a hopeful long pass. A few minutes later, he was asking the defence for the ball again. “He knows how we believe and trust him, but after (a mistake), you have to show yourself, ” head coach Marco Silva said after the match when asked about King’s response to the error. “Sometimes you try to hide yourself to gain confidence again. But that was not the case. He popped up again and showed himself and I was really impressed with him. ” Craven Cottage got behind him, too. Around the half-hour mark, King combined with Iwobi and made a smart off-the-ball run to open a passing lane to Sessegnon, with the left-back seeing his shot saved by Caoimhin Kelleher. Up went the chants. The encouragement never wavered. King knew he had their backing. There he was picking up a pass in midfield, swiftly turning away from Jordan Henderson and driving beyond Van den Berg before forcing a scrambling tackle that won Fulham a throw in the attacking third. Seconds later, King won a foul with more brave running and shielding of the ball. Some in the stands were on their feet. Momentum firmly with the hosts, Iwobi levelled things up after some pinball in the Brentford area. “When I scored, he (King) said, ‘You got me out of a pickle’, ” Iwobi said. Two minutes later, Iwobi assisted Harry Wilson to overturn the deficit. Brentford never really recovered. While not involved in either goal, King was at the heart of the moments that generated the most noise from a 26, 813-strong crowd. His qualities have held Fulham’s attack together in these early weeks of the campaign. Yes, there is naivety to his play at times — that is inevitable for one so young, and was evident again when he was booked for a dive just before the interval. Advertisement But Silva views it all as a part of the process. “(The mistake) will make him grow quicker and feel that it’s not all going to be sunshine, ” he said. “Some moments are going to be slightly dark, and he has to be ready for it. The support from his team-mates was lovely to see. ” Iwobi typified that, offering encouragement to the young midfielder as they headed into the tunnel at half-time. Substitute Timothy Castagne made a beeline for him on the pitch, too, putting an arm around King’s shoulder. Their words will have bolstered his belief, giving him the confidence to show for and collect the ball again in the defensive third just after the break, using a combination of touches and pauses to evade Brentford pressure before making a more assured sideways pass this time. When King departed in the 67th minute, with Fulham 3-1 up and comfortable, he jogged off to a deafening ovation. Muniz even sprinted over to him to deliver a pat on the back. This club has boasted Harvey Elliott, Eberechi Eze, Djed Spence and Matt O’Riley in their youth system over the years only to see them thrive in senior football elsewhere. King can do that at Craven Cottage. (Top photo:  Visionhaus/Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Anantaajith Raghuraman (or Ananth) is a tactics and data writer covering football. He covered Indian football for Sportskeeda and analysed teams from numerous European leagues outside of the top five for Total Football Analysis prior to joining The Athletic. He is currently based in London. Follow Anantaajith on Twitter @anantaajith