Jonah Kusi-Asare “stuck in a rut” at Fulham as Bayern consider January change

Bayern Munich are increasingly worried about the development of Jonah Kusi-Asare, with the Bundesliga club now fearing Fulham will decline the option to buy the 18-year-old striker after a difficult first few months in England.

According to Kicker, Kusi-Asare’s loan move — intended to accelerate his pathway to senior football — has instead left the teenager “stuck in a rut”, with fewer minutes at Fulham than he had at Bayern. The entire plan for his season is now under review.

Kusi-Asare was sent to Craven Cottage after Bayern signed Nicolas Jackson on loan, leaving the Swedish forward’s chances of Bundesliga minutes looking slim. Fulham were meant to be the solution: a Premier League environment, a clear development plan, and regular exposure to senior football.

Instead, the opposite has happened.
The striker has played fewer minutes for Fulham than he did at Bayern, who only used him as a late substitute in their 6–0 win over RB Leipzig.

The move, at present, is simply not working.

Marco Silva has addressed the situation publicly — and his assessment was blunt. The Fulham manager insists that Kusi-Asare “isn’t ready” for Premier League football yet and remains behind several forwards in the squad hierarchy.

Those comments have sparked questions inside and outside Fulham, including why the club agreed to the loan if they believed the striker wasn’t sufficiently prepared. The reality is that Kusi-Asare is unlikely to climb the pecking order between now and May.

With that in mind, it is very unlikely Fulham will activate the agreed release clause to buy him permanently — despite already paying a €4m loan fee, which Bayern used to recoup the €3.5m they spent to sign him.

Bayern hoped the move would accelerate his progress. Instead, the German club are left with a stalled prospect, no playing rhythm, and an uncomfortable decision to make in January.

Kicker report that Bayern believe the striker is “stuck in a rut” at Fulham and needs consistent minutes to continue developing. If Fulham can’t (or won’t) offer them, then a change of club in January may be essential.

Having followed Kusi-Asare’s emergence at AIK and Bayern, this move always looked like it carried risk. In our view, Fulham are not a club that often develop young strikers through gradual minutes — their system demands physicality, tactical maturity and consistency. That is a difficult environment for an 18-year-old adapting to English football.

Although some expected him to break through quickly, other indications point differently: Kusi-Asare still needs repetition, lower-pressure minutes and a club willing to accept mistakes. Fulham, chasing stability and survival, are not that club.

From experience covering similar youth loans, the worst scenario is a “lost season”. Bayern now seem determined to avoid that, and a January switch — possibly to a Bundesliga or Eredivisie side — may be the reset he needs.

Bayern will assess the situation in December and are prepared to redirect Kusi-Asare’s development if his Fulham minutes do not increase. A January loan recall is firmly on the table.

👉 Fulham & Bayern fans — where should he go next to restart his development?