Tom Cairney

Tom Cairney is a midfielder currently playing for Fulham. Born in Nottingham, he represents Scotland, making his full international debut in 2017. After Scott Parker's retirement at the end of 2016-17, he was made club captain.

Fulham (2015-present)
Amid much speculation, Tom joined the club officially on 26 June 2015 for an estimated fee of around £3.5 million. He made his debut in the season opener against Cardiff City and scored his first goal in a disappointing 2-1 defeat on his home debut against Brighton & Hove Albion. He then scored an almost identical left footed strike from the edge of the area the following week during another 2-1 loss, this time at the hands of Hull City. In a low point in an otherwise positive start to his Fulham career, Tom was sent off early on in a 3-0 loss at home to Wolves after a straight red card for a dangerous two footed challenge, and was given a three match suspension. Upon returning, he regained his place and spent the majority of 2015-16 playing on the right side of midfield.

As Slaviša Jokanović took charge, he began using Tom in a more central role and it was in the 2016-17 season where his performances began to stand out. With a late push, Fulham were the in-form team at the end of the season as they made the Championship play-offs, with Tom who was now captain, one of the main reasons for it. Despite not reaching the Final, Tom's contribution of 13 goals and 11 assists made him the fans' Player of the Season for the second year running.

In the close season, Tom was subject to much speculation regarding a potential move to Newcastle United for a proposed £20 million, though this did not materialise, with him wanting to remain at Craven Cottage and fight for promotion to the Premier League once more. He achieved this with the team in 2018, and he scored the only goal at Wembley Stadium for a 1-0 victory in the Championship Play-off Final.

2018-19 was a poor one for the club and everyone involved as they were relegated straight back to the Championship. Tom managed only one goal, against Everton towards the tailend of the season. However, Tom once more captained the team to promotion the following year, with another Play-off victory against rivals Brentford.

Tom sustained another knee injury shortly before Christmas 2020 and would be out of action for many months, unable to help prevent another relegation from the Premier League. He finally returned off the bench on 20 October 2021, scoring in a 2-0 win over Cardiff City at Craven Cottage in what was an emotional moment for him. Days later, he went on to reclaim the captain's armband once more in what was coincidentally his 200th League match for the club, a 4-0 win away to Nottingham Forest.

In June 2022, after his third promotion to the Premier League, Tom won the clubs' Goal of the Season award for his comeback strike against Cardiff.