Alvaro Arbeloa is edging closer to becoming Marco Silva’s replacement as Fulham boss.
The 43-year-old Spaniard has been in talks to take over the reins at the west London club following his departure from Real Madrid at the end of the season.
Daily Mail Sport understands that former Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was Fulham’s top target but would be subject to paying a fee for his services. Arbeloa, on the other hand, is a free agent, and would therefore arrive without a cost.
McKenna, who announced his departure from the club earlier this week, said he wants a break to spend time with his family.
Arbeloa spent his entire coaching career at Madrid since retiring from playing in 2017, working his way up through the ranks of the youth teams to the interim position last season, following Xabi Alonso’s sacking in January.
He led Madrid to a second-placed finish in LaLiga – eight points behind champions Barcelona – but they were eliminated by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals, and knocked out of the Copa del Rey by lower-tier Albacete.
Arbeloa working his way up through the ranks of the youth teams to the interim position last season, following Xabi Alonso’s sacking in January
As a player, he had two spells at the Santiago Bernabeu and also played in the Premier League for both Liverpool and West Ham.
Silva’s departure from Fulham was announced at the beginning of this month after five years in charge. He has opted to leave for Portuguese giants Benfica after they lost Jose Mourinho to Madrid.
Silva led the side to the 2021-22 Championship title in his first season in charge. Having twice previously gone straight back down following promotion, Fulham comfortably secured a top half finish in 2022-23 – a campaign which also saw them record their first victory over neighbours Chelsea in 17 years.
Silva led the Cottagers to three further mid-table finishes in the subsequent seasons, including breaking their Premier League points-record in 2025 (54), while also leading them to four quarter-finals across both domestic cup competitions, including a first ever appearance in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
Fulham finished 11th in the Premier League last season.
