Next Fulham Manager Odds: After Marco Silva

In many ways, Roberto De Zerbi feels like the perfect replacement for Marco Silva. As characters, there are similarities between the pair with neither afraid to say what they think whilst, tactically, it feels like they see the game in a not too dissimilar way too.

Then comes the real reason why Fulham would be keen on De Zerbi should Silva move on. Proof of progressing from a high base. When De Zerbi rocked up at Brighton to replace Graham Potter, the general consensus was that Potter had maxed out the Seagulls squad.

Not only did De Zerbi maintain what Potter had achieved but he actually enhanced the cutting edge of the team. His body of work on the South Coast has to go down as an almighty tick in the Craven Cottage board room.

Brighton is far from De Zerbi’s only success story as well. The Italian, who is currently at Marseille, has earned rave reviews from several former clubs with the length of tenure the main question mark; we’ve already established that Silva had that same doubt when signing on the dotted line a few years ago so it won't be a deal breaker.

De Zerbi isn’t the only Ligue 1 manager that will feature on Fulham’s wishlist. We’re expecting Eric Roy’s name to come up in conversation as well. The 57-year-old is currently in charge at Brest but there have been rumours over his long-term future at the club surfacing over recent weeks.

Roy, who does have experience of English football having represented Sunderland in his playing days and serving as Sporting Director at Watford, doesn’t have an extensive managerial record but the work he has done has largely been well-received.

Roy’s time at Nice, where he was manager for 18 months until November 2011, was a bizarre one owing to the club structure but the job he has done at Brest is nothing short of remarkable.

Not only did he guide them to Champions League qualification last season but he then managed to steer them into the playoffs. His job at Brest is backed up by being named French Manager of the Year in 2023/24 making his an intriguing name.

A year ago mentioning Erik Ten Hag’s name in connection with the Fulham job would have been farcical for a couple of different reasons. Now though, is it really that farfetched? We don’t think so.

Ten Hag did a superb job at Ajax, where he delivered an easy-on-the-eye style of football along with results boasting a 73% win ratio, seven trophies and a deep run in the Champions League whilst his career prior to that isn’t half bad either.

Sure, he struggled at Man United but the scrutiny at Old Trafford is incomparable to 99.9% of clubs in the world whilst time is also proving kind to Ten Hag’s job at United, given the results under Ruben Amorim.

Of course, he did also deliver silverware to United in the shape of two cups. Would he relish the chance to prove himself in the Premier League at a lower-profile club? He certainly spoke confidently of proving himself at the end of his tenure.

They say you should never go back in football but it’s working out alright for Everton and David Moyes right now and there are a few reasons why Fulham might feel going back to Scott Parker is a good idea should Marco Silva leave.

For one thing, Parker, who played for the club between 2013 and 2017 before becoming manager for a 17-month spell, did a reasonable job when Head Coach.

He guided the club to Championship promotion before ultimately seeing them relegated the next season as they finished third bottom. He repeated his promotion track with Bournemouth and is well-positioned to do it again with Burnley.

Admittedly, Parker has come up short at Premier League level but a previously existing relationship with Fulham, which didn’t end bitterly, and a managerial journey that has also taken him overseas for extra growth means he could well be a wildcard consideration for the Cottagers.