Manchester United held internal discussions about the possibility of hiring Fulham manager Marco Silva to replace Erik ten Hag, according to transfer news journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest column for the Daily Briefing, Romano explained that Silva was one option Man Utd considered when they took their time to explore their options with the manager position this summer.
Things never advanced beyond that, so Fulham fans probably don’t need to worry too much about possibly losing their manager as he never got into concrete discussions about taking another job.
In the end, United decided to stick with Ten Hag despite considering Silva and a few other names on their list of other potential candidates, and it will be interesting to see the reaction of Red Devils fans to this somewhat surprise decision.
Although Ten Hag ended last season on a high by winning the FA Cup final against bitter rivals Manchester City, there are surely few who would argue there were many other positives from last season.
Would Marco Silva have been an upgrade for Manchester United?
Sticking with Ten Hag seems a risk, though in fairness we’re not sure many fans would view someone like Silva as enough of an upgrade, while there’s perhaps a shortage of other particularly exciting options out there as well.
Discussing the situation, Romano said: “Man United considered to change the manager – that’s the reality, it was a possibility for this summer but it was never 100% decided. That’s why has always been an open story with many factors.
“Personally, I think giving Ten Hag a new contract is important to show strong confidence in his job, this could look like a detail but in my opinion is the crucial factor of this story: a new contract for Ten Hag is a really, really important step to protect him.
“There were five or six names United considered for the job, and Marco Silva of Fulham is one of them, but not the only one. As previously reported, Thomas Tuchel had a meeting and was in talks with Man United then they decided not to advance in negotiations. Marco Silva was an option discussed internally but was not so close to the job.”