Fulham Hold Advanced Talks To Appoint Alvaro Arbeloa As Marco Silva Replacement

Fulham are in advanced talks to appoint Alvaro Arbeloa as a replacement for Marco Silva after Silva spent five years in charge at Craven Cottage and opted to leave for Portuguese giants Benfica after they lost Jose Mourinho to Real Madrid.

“Fulham are in advanced talks to appoint Alvaro Arbeloa as a replacement for outgoing manager Marco Silva”

BBC

The BBC said Arbeloa, 43, was in charge at Madrid at the end of last season on an interim basis after replacing incoming Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso midway through the campaign, and that he is now the lead contender for the role in west London.

BBC

Irish Independent reported that Fulham are targeting former Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa to replace Marco Silva, with Fulham having finished 11th in the Premier League last season.

Goal added that Arbeloa officially left Los Blancos on Tuesday, clearing the path for a potential move to the Premier League, and that Fulham have moved quickly to hold talks with the Spaniard as the Craven Cottage vacancy is filled.

The BBC also said the Cottagers held talks with Kieran McKenna, but it would have cost £8m to release him from his contract at Ipswich Town, before McKenna departed saying he wanted a break to spend time with his family.

talkSPORT said Fulham are closing in on appointing Alvaro Arbeloa to become their new manager after talks progressed on Saturday, and it framed the move as a response to the previous favourite Kieran McKenna announcing his resignation as Ipswich Town boss.

talkSPORT also quoted McKenna’s statement that “It is with a mixture of gratitude, pride, sadness and contentment that I have decided to step down from the honour of managing this historic football club,” as it described his five-year spell and Ipswich’s promotion back to the Premier League.

Goal

The BBC reported that Fulham finished 11th in the Premier League last season and that Arbeloa spent his entire coaching career at Madrid, working his way up from the youth teams to the interim position last season.

Goal said Fulham’s pursuit of Arbeloa came after the Kieran McKenna setback, and it described Fulham exploring other names including Frank Lampard, Abel Ferreira, Ruben Amorim, and Hugo Oliveira.

The BBC added that a full agreement has not been reached, but that the club are working towards the expectation that Arbeloa will be their next boss.

With the managerial vacancy at Craven Cottage opened after Silva parted ways with Fulham to take over at Benfica, the BBC said talks are ongoing and Fulham are working towards the expectation that Arbeloa will be their next boss.

“Fulham target former Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa to replace Marco Silva”

Irish Independent

Goal reported that Arbeloa was unable to prevent the Spanish side from crashing out of the Copa del Rey, Champions League and La Liga title race, and that Jose Mourinho returning to Madrid as the next permanent boss cleared the path for Arbeloa’s availability.

roundtable.io said the transfer window is due to officially open on June 15 and that Fulham will not be able to appoint a new manager before then, while hoping to name their new manager as soon as possible as they begin to play their transfer policy for the summer.

Punch Newspapers said Fulham have held discussions with Álvaro Arbeloa as they begin the search for a new manager following the departure of Marco Silva, and it described Arbeloa as a strong contender while sources suggested talks are not yet at an advanced stage.

In parallel, BBC said Fulham are known to have held talks with Kieran McKenna and that it would have cost £8m to release him from his contract at Ipswich Town, before he departed to take a break with his family.