Jokanovic admits De la Torre could be in line for more game time

| 26 September 2018

The midfielder scored his first goal as Fulham defeated Millwall in the Carabao Cup.

Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic has revealed Luca de la Torre’s performance in Tuesday’s 3-1 victory at Millwall could force him to re-think his team selection.

De la Torre joined Joe Bryan and Cyrus Christie in scoring his first goal for the club as they progressed to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

The midfielder particularly excelled, taking advantage of a rare opportunity, having remained largely peripheral even amid the multiple changes Jokanovic has made.

His influence was perhaps partly overlooked as 15-year-old Harvey Elliott became the club’s youngest ever player, but despite Fulham’s intense competition for places, Jokanovic said: “He played well.

“Two assists, one goal. I didn’t have space to give him so many chances but he never stop pushing forward and he showed the personality and professionalism at the training ground.

“He is enjoying scoring his first goal, like Joe Bryan who played very good too, and we will find some conclusion and see how we can use different players in different moments or in different shapes.

“We are open for all the variations during the year and we will check if some of the options can play this way or not in the future.

“It depends on many things. Luca is strong, healthy and pushes really strong, waiting for the chance.

“I cannot promise anything, but he showed many positive things.”

While he had made 10 changes to his starting XI against Championship opposition, Millwall’s Neil Harris had also made eight to his struggling team, and he said: “What was important was looking at player combinations, getting minutes and confidence under some of their belts.

“To some element we did that. There were positives, but our priority is Saturday against Sheffield United.

“We’re in a bit of a difficult spell at the moment which we’ve not had too many of, and now it’s about the players’ reaction to the first 70 minutes at West Brom, the second half at QPR and some of our games here where at times we have been outstanding.”

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