Copyright Adam Farquharson 2026
To most football fans, the idea of renewing the contract of a highly-paid, soon-to-be 35-year-old forward may seem like a peculiar proposition.
With the Premier League being one of the most competitive leagues in the world, having Raul Jimenez continue continue to lead the line for Fulham is a bit of an odd suggestion.
Having been relied on so heavily for the past 18 months, barely getting any rest due to injuries and a lack of competition, Fulham fans have seen Raul huff and puff until he had no steam left. We’ve seen him track back so far he’s nowhere to be found at the top of the pitch when needed. We’ve seen him snap at chances from open play when there have been better options, we’ve seen him out-muscled against larger centre-backs. He’s had it tough – but despite it all he’s flourished, with nine goals and five assists in his 25 Premier League starts this season
So, let’s re-phrase the question. Rather than focusing on Raul as our number one striker, let’s instead ask: can Raul Jimenez still add to this Fulham squad? And the answer has to be yes. If there is room for negotiation on his wages, and he’s willing to be part of a team of three competent forwards, then he absolutely brings an essential level of experience and work ethic that can add to this Fulham team.
Even if Fulham put pen to paper with a Ricardo Pepi-esque level of forward, who is the best person to help embed that new striker into the Fulham squad? What happens when tactics need to be changed and they need to be taken off? Rodrigo Muniz is still young, and injury has disrupted his campaign, leading to just one goal and one assist in 574 league minutes this season.
Raul on the other hand is on track to match his previous season’s total of 12 goals and three assists. Not only that, his link up play in the middle of the pitch, and even when defending, synergises well with Marco Silva’’s fluent style of football. He’s delivered this year.
Let’s not forget the fact that he has also smashed the Premier League record for most consecutive penalties scored, as he sits three above previous record-holder Yaya Toure with 14 and counting. He offers a calm and collected leadership style and a cool head when needed, even when his private life was more than challenging following the passing of his father, he still stepped up to deliver for us against Burnley to finish the game.
And if we’re really going down fantastical future possibilities, on the outside chance Fulham do succeed in achieving our European hopes, we’re going to need a deeper squad to fight on all fronts. A competition such as the Europa Conference League, having the lower level of competitiveness compared to Europa league (and dare I say Champions League) would allow us to use a third striker that’s competent without exhausting our leading striker that would be required to deliver in the league.
Like all of these things, time will tell. There are still a lot of things that are up in the air for Fulham that feel very much connected to where we finish at the end of the season.
My gut tells me that these are the final seven games we will get to enjoy seeing our Mexican forward play in a Fulham shirt, and I hope fans appreciate the workrate and performances he delivered for us. His return to form following his near-fatal head injury at Wolves has been another one of Silva’s success stories. It’s been brilliant to have him be a part of our squad that achieved our highest ever points tally – and he could help us repeat that feat this year. If he did, a new deal would be an apt reward.