Fulham coach Marco Silva is now a target for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli, who are preparing to make the Portuguese one of the best paid coaches in the world.
It is understood that managerless Al-Ahli, one of the quartet of Saudi teams recently acquired by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), have made an offer that could be as much as £40 million for a two-year contract. It would dwarf the £7 million a year offer made to Silva by Fulham and give the 46-year-old an interesting decision to make.
Silva is understood to have a £6 million release fee in his current contract which runs until next summer. Al-Ahli are already in pre-season in Austria but currently working without a manager. They are seeking to appoint a coach quickly.
Fulham may feel under some pressure from the SPL factor now ripping through the Premier League. Their star player Aleksandar Mitrovic is understood to be unhappy that the club is valuing him at £52 million, thus precluding a move to Saudi side Al-Hilal, who have already signed Ruben Neves from Wolves and Kalidou Koulibaly from Chelsea, among others. Fulham have already rejected a bid of £25 million for Mitrovic.
Meanwhile, Joao Palhinha is being looked at by Liverpool and West Ham as they seek to fill midfield vacancies created by recent big transfer moves.
Silva’s future has been the subject of some doubt all summer with a heavily trailed pursuit of him by Al-Hilal, who have since appointed another Portuguese coach, Jorge Jesus.
On Thursday, Silva flew with the Fulham squad to the United States for pre-season preparation and games in the Premier League summer series. They play Brentford in Philadelphia on Saturday. Both Mitrovic and Palhinha are in the touring squad.
First it was the players, now it is the managers
The priority for the Saudi Pro League’s explosive investment in Premier League talent has been the players – but now they are turning their attention to the managers.
Silva was always likely to be a target for the heavy investment of PIF and other Saudi club owners. He outperformed expectations at Fulham last season with a squad that was, on average, among the oldest in the Premier League. Silva, 46, is a restless soul to say the least. Fulham is the seventh appointment of a ten-year coaching career and wherever he has gone he has demanded to see ambition from his owners.
No-one could accuse the Khan family of not having Fulham’s best interests at heart. The patriarch Shad, the billionaire US owner, has supported some heavy spending through promotion and relegation with around £500 million invested over ten years and a new Riverside Stand nearing completion. But the club has always had to trade shrewdly in the summer, and every season begins with Premier League survival as the priority.
Silva may simply wish to push Fulham as hard as possible in the contract negotiations to extend his current deal. There is naturally a lot of goodwill towards the Portuguese coach for what he achieved last season. Yet there will also be a limit to which Fulham are prepared to go and no further. That is sensible for the club to try to move towards sustainability.
Flying to the United States for the Premier League Summer Series this week, Silva may well survey his squad that includes a lot of young players and a disgruntled Aleksandar Mitrovic and wonder why the picture doesn’t look better. If it comes down to money then Saudi will surely be able to outbid Fulham. As for the quality of the football itself, then the Premier League is the only winner.
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