Fulham boss Silva hails ‘really important’ Ream

Fulham boss Marco Silva has paid tribute to veteran defender Tim Ream ahead of his side’s daunting trip to Manchester City on Saturday.

The 35-year-old centre-back is in line for his 60th successive start for the Whites, having been rejuvenated since Silva replaced Scott Parker at the start of last season.

The United States international, who is the club’s longest serving player, having joined from Bolton in 2015, was largely ignored by Parker during the ill-fated 2020/21 campaign when he featured just seven times.

He faced an uncertain future when Silva arrived, with his contract expiring at the end of the season, but the Portuguese said Ream’s presence at the heart of the defence has been a key factor in seventh-placed Fulham’s excellent start.

“He has been a really important player for me since I joined this football club,” Silva said.

“He is a top professional and a very good player. He has some of the things I like in a central defender and keeps improving.

“Last season he started every game in the Championship and played 90 minutes in every game apart from one where he came off injured.

“He played 46 games and this season he has started every game in the Premier League and that shows what a good professional he is.

“He trains well, is always ready and has a great capacity to recover after games which is not easy at his age.”

Silva added that he had no idea why Ream was jettisoned by Parker, having played a significant role in helping the club go up in 2020.

“I cannot talk about why as I was not here than and I don’t know why the decision was made,” he said.

“Different managers want different things and different profiles in central defence.

“I know this season he has guys around him that are pushing him hard and it is not easy to keep your place as Issa Diop, Shane Duffy have come in and Tosin is here too and they all want his place in the team.”