Marco Silva, the manager of Fulham, has been praised for his leadership in helping the team comfortably avoid relegation in the past two seasons following their promotion from the Championship to the Premier League. Despite interest from Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad and a similar approach from Al-Ahli last summer, Fulham have been confident in their ability to retain Silva as their manager. However, recent reports suggest that Stefano Pioli is now seen as the frontrunner for the position after Argentine coach Marcelo Gallardo was sacked.