Analysis
Josh King: The making of the rising star tipped to become one of world's best players after England call-up
Fulham's Josh King is in England's squad to face Croatia and Spain; Alvaro Arbeloa says he has 'everything' to become one of the world's best; Sky Sports finds out how he flourished in Fulham's academy, despite interest from Chelsea, and why he's destined for the very top
Wednesday 11 November 2026 17:22, UK
Josh King was always one of the best players in his age group. "Nationally," clarifies Charlie Turnbull, his coach in Fulham's academy for five seasons between his U10 and U14 years, to Sky Sports. But there was another quality that 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."
King's temperament now forms part of his appeal to Thomas Tuchel, who called him up for England ahead of Cole Palmer and Phil Foden. "It's the attitude and the personality," he said last week. It all bodes well ahead of a possible debut against Croatia or Spain.
Tuchel sees a bright future for King, who has represented England at every level from U15 up. He has another champion in Alvaro Arbeloa. "He has everything to become one of the best players in the world," said the Fulham head coach after his call-up.
Turnbull nods in agreement at the mention of that Arbeloa comment. "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 prompted interest from elsewhere.
"Chelsea were considered the best academy in the country at that time," says Turnbull. "They were generally able to bring in any player they wanted. We were aware of interest, but you never felt like it would materialise because Josh and his family never courted it."
Turnbull, who most recently worked as assistant to Kieran McKenna at Ipswich, talks up the role of King's parents, Michelle, a university lecturer, and Steve, a lawyer, in keeping him grounded. He mentions King's private education and his multi-sport background too.
"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 says. "And I think that's something his mum and dad have taken very deliberate steps to try to curate over time."
He describes King as having a "level of maturity that wasn't typical of boys his age" - and ability to match. "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.
"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 been showing those qualities on a regular basis for Fulham since making his senior breakthrough under Marco Silva. It is a testament to his ability that he has played more Premier League minutes than any other teenager in the last two seasons.
As in his academy days, he has happily taken on added responsibility this season. King has more goal involvements than any other Fulham player and ranks highly in several other attacking areas, reflecting his importance to the side in the No 10 position.
His success is no surprise to Turnbull. But there is satisfaction at some of the parts of his game in which King continues to show improvement. "The two big areas we focused on in his development plan were his ball striking and his left side," he says.
Fulham carefully tailored his training programme. Turnbull describes taking King out of group sessions for focused shooting practice. The fruits of that work at youth level are now apparent in his ability to generate immense power with minimal backlift.
His goal against Chelsea, when he beat Robert Sanchez at his near post, was one example. Others include a spectacular volley from outside the box parried by Lukas Hornicek against Newcastle and a thunderous shot onto the post against Coventry.
King also has a knack for arriving in the right place at the right time. He ranks behind only Erling Haaland for touches in the opposition box in the Premier League 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 there is one, is that he hasn't scored more goals. "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 shooting continues to be an area of focus under Arbeloa. The Spaniard has used King almost exclusively in the No 10 position this season. But Tuchel has talked up the value of his versatility and Turnbull sees his future slightly further back.
"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."
The extent of King's potential is made more tantalising by the fact that, at 19, he still has room for physical development.
"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."
