Fulham are a club approaching a crossroads.
Amid uncertainty over the future of head coach Marco Silva, whose contract expires at the end of June, the Cottagers are now obliged to weigh up options ahead of next season.
Those include the possibility of sourcing a replacement for the Portuguese, who has been at Fulham for five years, or enticing Silva with a new deal and strengthening the squad.
The west London outfit are currently 12th in the Premier League and still have an outside chance of European football in 2026-27.
However, with a squad perceived to be lacking in sufficient depth and a surprising FA Cup exit to Southampton last month, Silva has faced some supporter criticism.
As such, talks between the club hierarchy and the manager need to be resolved as quickly as possible.
Fulham are also looking at contingency plans, should Silva – previously linked with Tottenham Hotspur – choose to depart.
“If Fulham finish strongly between now and the end of the season, he may stay but the club is at a crossroads,” a club insider told The i Paper.
“The club has ensured investment is there and Marco Silva is good at blending in players to the squad, but some fans suggest he is not looking enough at academy prospects.
“Silva is very guarded at the moment. He thought he might be in for the Tottenham job earlier in the season and there was interest from Brighton, too. In terms of his ambition, he wants to manage in Europe and that’s what makes the last part of the season so important for Fulham as they try and reach a qualification stage.
“If Marco stays then expect the backroom team to be bolstered. I think he feels it is a bit thin at the moment, compared to other clubs, but things like that are getting closer in discussions around his future.
“However, if Marco does go, Tony Khan [Fulham sporting director] has a contingency plan. Any replacement manager would have to be Premier League ready, with a similar profile to Silva. Someone who also knows European leagues and is a tracksuit manager.”
Intriguingly, someone who is available and broadly fits the bill in the event of Silva leaving Fulham is Thomas Frank.
The Dane left Brentford for Tottenham last June, only to become a managerial casualty of a fraught season after just eight months in north London.
Frank attended the scoreless derby between Brentford and Fulham on Saturday, fuelling speculation that he could be a potential new boss at Craven Cottage.
“He [Frank] lives in Sheen, south west London and would be a good fit for Fulham, but Crystal Palace are also interested,” the source explained.
“The Khan family are big on someone nice to deal with in and around the club, and Thomas Frank is a really decent guy.
“Older and younger Fulham fans may have different views on the idea of him, but he is a good fit for younger player development which worked well at Brentford.
“This has obvious appeal for the Khans. I’m not sure he would be the top choice if Marco left, but he is a choice. He was at the Brentford-Fulham game for something, maybe he was looking at Fulham?
“He knows the Premier League very well so would certainly be a consideration if things were to change.”
With conversations ongoing over Silva, it should be noted that the majority of Fulham fans would prefer the former Everton and Sporting Lisbon coach to remain.
Harry Wilson may leave the club shortly too, which is another concern in relation to summer rebuilding and reinvestment.
The i Paper understands Silva has significant concerns over the right-back and forward positions.
“I think a lot of fans are still in the camp of wanting Marco Silva to stay,” the source noted.
“The Premier League has been a bit stale this season. Look at Chelsea in sixth down to Crystal Palace in 13th place. They are all much of a muchness. Fulham’s inconsistency is a concern as is the squad depth.
“While it pays for Silva to assess options, would he be seen as a strong option for Newcastle United if Eddie Howe leaves? I’m not so sure. The club have been good to him.
“Ideally he would like to stay – he knows from previous jobs that the grass isn’t always greener.
“From the club’s perspective they want him to stay, but they also want the team to finish the season in style. So these weeks are very important in terms of Silva staying or going. I do feel he owes some loyalty to Fulham. The players love him. It’s ‘do or die’ time for Fulham, really.”
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