Josh King was always among the most gifted players in his age group. “Nationally,” confirms Charlie Turnbull, who coached him across five seasons at Fulham’s academy between his U10 and U14 years, speaking to Sky Sports. But it was another quality that truly set him apart.
“One of the most outstanding things about Josh is that whenever the level went up, whenever there was a pressure game, he loved it,” adds Turnbull. “He loved it when things got hard. He loved it when there was a little bit of extra pressure.
“He wanted it. He wanted to feel like the pressure was on him and the responsibility was on him to produce for the team. He enjoyed that. You always saw the best of Josh when the ante was up. I never once saw him not deliver in those circumstances.
“We would play tournaments in France, Spain and Portugal, against the giants of Europe, and afterwards the staff from each club would have to pick the best player they’d seen across the weekend. I remember Josh winning that accolade more than once.”
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Watch Josh King’s Premier League goals for Fulham
That temperament now forms part of his appeal to Thomas Tuchel, who fast-tracked him into the England squad ahead of established names such as Cole Palmer and Phil Foden. “It’s the attitude and the personality,” the England manager said last week. It is an encouraging backdrop to a potential debut against Croatia or Spain.
Tuchel sees a bright future for King, who has already represented England at every level from Under-15 upward. He has another prominent supporter in Alvaro Arbeloa. “He has everything to become one of the best players in the world,” the Fulham head coach said following the call-up.
Turnbull nods when the Arbeloa quote is put to him. “Development is never a straight line, so you can never really predict. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think he could play at the very highest level of the game when I was working with him.”
His talent did not go unnoticed elsewhere.
You forget he’s only 19. It’s unbelievable how he’s performing. He has everything to become one of the best players in the world
Alvaro Arbeloa on Josh King
“Chelsea were considered the best academy in the country at that time,” recalls Turnbull. “They were generally able to bring in any player they wanted. We were aware of the interest, but you never felt like it would materialise because Josh and his family never courted it.”
Turnbull, who most recently served as assistant to Kieran McKenna at Ipswich, is quick to highlight the grounding provided by King’s parents, Michelle, a university lecturer, and Steve, a lawyer. He also points to King’s private education and his multi-sport upbringing.
“If all you have is football as a young player, it piles even more pressure on your shoulders than if your identity is bigger than that,” he explains. “And I think that’s something his mum and dad have taken very deliberate steps to try to curate over time.”
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Josh King believes his versatility was part of his attraction to Thomas Tuchel
Turnbull describes King as possessing a “level of maturity that wasn’t typical of boys his age” — matched by genuine ability. “Interestingly, for someone who works so hard and is really open to learning, his game hasn’t changed that much. It was pretty fully formed when I met him.
“The most obvious thing with Josh, and you’re seeing it in the Premier League now, is the way he moves. The way he twists and changes direction is probably his standout attribute.
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“His receiving skills are also elite. There’s no debate over that. His ability to receive the ball in small spaces and be able to retain the ball and still go forwards and twist and shimmy and beat opponents is of top Premier League level, I would say.”
King has demonstrated those qualities with growing consistency for Fulham since breaking into the senior side under Marco Silva. A measure of his standing is that he has played more Premier League minutes than any other teenager across the past two seasons.
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As in his academy days, he has embraced added responsibility this season. King has more goal involvements than any other Fulham player and ranks among the leaders in several other attacking metrics, underlining his value to the side in the No 10 role.
His rise comes as no surprise to Turnbull. Yet there is satisfaction in the areas of his game where King keeps improving. “The two big areas we focused on in his development plan were his ball striking and his left side,” he notes.
Fulham tailored his training programme with care. Turnbull recalls taking King out of group sessions for dedicated shooting practice, and the benefits of that early work are visible now in his ability to generate ferocious power from minimal backlift.
His goal against Chelsea, when he beat Robert Sanchez at the near post, was one illustration. Others include a spectacular volley from the edge of the box, pushed away by Lukas Hornicek against Newcastle, and a thunderous strike against the post in the meeting with Coventry.
King also has a gift for arriving in the right place at the right moment. He ranks behind only Erling Haaland for touches in the opposition box in the Premier League this season.
Josh King has had 60 touches in the box this season
“That was the same throughout his youth career,” says Turnbull. “He gets into those positions so easily because of his intellect, his positioning and his movement. His ability to get into those positions is of a world-class level. He has a fantastic instinct for it.”
The only frustration, if it can be called that, is that he has not scored more. “Probably, to take himself to the next level, he just needs to become more decisive when he gets into those positions because he is certainly arriving there enough,” adds Turnbull.
His finishing remains a focus under Arbeloa, who has deployed King almost exclusively in the No 10 role this season. Tuchel, though, has emphasised the value of his versatility, and Turnbull envisages his long-term future slightly deeper.
Fulham’s Josh King celebrates after scoring against Crystal Palace
“I think probably his best position will end up being as a No 8.
“So, not quite a No 10, not quite a six, but someone that goes box to box, who can contribute in the final third, but who can also contribute to build-up.
“Because one of his best attributes is undoubtedly his ability to take the ball in build-up. He’s so hard to get the ball off, and his understanding of how to progress the game is of a very high level.
“You would want to be able to maximise that, but you wouldn’t want to restrain him from arriving in the final third as well. I think he can do everything. In an ideal world, you would want him to be there for the build-up, then follow the game up the pitch.”
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Álvaro Arbeloa gives his reaction to Josh King’s England call-up
The extent of King’s potential is all the more intriguing given that, at 19, he still has considerable physical development ahead of him.
“He was always what we call in academy circles ‘under-maturated’, playing against a lot of kids who were physically stronger,” says Turnbull. “There’s a lot of research that points to that being a positive thing, if you’re under-maturated and you still survive.
“And Josh didn’t just survive, he thrived.
“I look at Josh and I still think he hasn’t even got close to developing into the athlete that he will be. And that’s a great thought, because he is performing so well in the Premier League already.
“I think there’s a lot more to come from him.”
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