Marco Silva: ‘Is it time for me to move on from Fulham?’
Marco Silva rejected advances from Tottenham, Al-Hilal, and Juventus this summer but the Fulham boss may be regretting that decision.
That is according to football finance expert Dan Plumley, who told Football Insider exclusively that without new signings, the former Everton boss may consider leaving the Cottagers.
Fulham are the only team in the Premier League yet to make a new signing this summer, although that will change when Benjamin Lecomte completes his move from Ligue 2 side Montpellier.
The 34-year-old will arrive as an understudy to first-choice shot-stopper Bernd Leno with Steven Benda departing for Millwall.
The lack of transfer activity has been a source of frustration for many supporters. Silva rejected advances from several bigger clubs to remain at Fulham, but the club are yet to support the Portuguese boss in the transfer market this summer.
Fulham trying to balance ‘difficult strategy’
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Plumley, a senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, explained that Silva will be frustrated at the lack of transfer activity, and that the Portuguese manager may reach a stage where he questions whether the Whites were the right club to be in charge of.
The finance expert had previously outlined to Football Insider Bournemouth’s struggles in the transfer market and suggested Fulham were facing similar issues in finding players to sign whilst keeping their squad intact.
Plumley said: “I think with football managers nowadays, all of them want to buy players and make the squad better and invest in talent and bring fresh faces in. That’s always going to be the way.
“If you don’t get that as a manager, then at some point you might look at it and go, well, okay, so is it time for me to move?
“And that’s just the industry. I think in terms of Fulham, there is a project there that is his to take on and own, and sometimes you see clubs moving in cycles with transfers and we’ve seen this with some of the biggest clubs this summer, Liverpool have spent big where last season they spent nothing.
“It’s not an exact science of saying you’re just going to spend nothing every year. And if there are bigger project plans behind the scenes, then he might feel that he can stay and build that.
“But as a manager, at some point you are going to want new signings, and you would only go so far with that before you start saying, right, is it time for me to move on as well?
“But of course, you’ve got to have somewhere to move to.
“So there is sometimes the theory that it’s better to be in a job rather than not in a job as a football manager. I think he probably feels like he’s okay for now. But it’s tricky for Fulham because that mid-table pack of Premier League clubs is a difficult strategy game to balance.”
Fulham eye £30m move for Dewsbury-Hall
Nearly a month into the transfer window, the Whites look to have finally found a target who will add quality to the first XI.
Fulham have approached Chelsea to enquire about Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s availability.
Chelsea value the ex-Leicester City man as a squad option for Enzo Maresca, but would be willing to entertain the idea of his exit for around £30million.
Dewsbury-Hall finds himself buried behind a plethora of exciting midfield options available to the Italian manager, and the 26-year-old made just two Premier League starts last season.