Lucas Piazon future clarified as Fulham confirm loan extension

Lucas Piazon will remain at Fulham after the Championship play-off hopefuls confirmed that they have extended his loan spell. The versatile Chelsea attacking midfielder's initial four-month deal expired following Saturday's (14 January) 2-0 home victory over Barnsley, but an agreement has now been reached that will see him remain at Craven Cottage for the remainder of the 2016-17 campaign.

Piazon has proved a popular figure at Fulham since scoring on his debut in September's EFL Cup third round defeat to Bristol City. Netting a total of four goals in 17 matches across all competitions, the Brazilian has bounced back from a disappointing season-long stint at Reading last term during which he was often derided for not making sufficient impact on games despite his obvious talent.

Pre-empting Fulham's official announcement on Tuesday (17 January), Piazon, who had been keeping fans updated on negotiations regarding his contract extension, gleefully tweeted: "Now it is for real. Just signed all the paperwork so I can stay till the end of the season."

Fulham are the fifth loan club of Piazon's career, with the 22-year-old having also spent time at Malaga and unofficial feeder club Vitesse Arnhem in addition to Eintracht Frankfurt and Reading since joining Chelsea from Sao Paulo back in 2011. He has only made three senior appearances for his parent club to date, all of which came before Christmas during the 2012-13 season under Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Benitez.

Speaking about his life as one of Chelsea's plethora of young loanees back in September, Piazon, who is under contract until the summer of 2018, expressed frustration at constantly being farmed out to different clubs every year without being afforded the chance to settle.

"I'm tired of moving abroad," he was quoted as saying by Sky Sports. "One, two, three loans, maybe that's enough. It's time for me to stay somewhere for more than one year. I don't see it as a positive thing any more. To be in a different place every year is not good for me at 22.

"It's difficult to get a place in the team. They have their own players. You do your best, try to get a place in the squad, minutes on the pitch, score and create goals. That's all you can do."