Marco Silva admitted it is inevitable that bigger clubs will be interested in Fulham’s players in the wake of the club’s success last season, but would not be drawn on reports Joao Palhinha is set to join Bayern Munich.
Palhinha, who scored a late equaliser in last weekend’s draw against Arsenal, trained with the team on Thursday morning ahead of their trip to face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Reports in Germany have claimed a deal has been agreed in principal between the player and the Bundesliga champions, but the west London club would not confirm the midfielder is about to be sold ahead of Friday’s transfer deadline.
Should Palhinha move to Germany, it would leave limited time to find a replacement for a player who was critical to the side’s successful first season back in the Premier League during the previous campaign.
He featured 35 times in the league as Fulham finished 10th and almost matched their top-flight points record.
Silva said the club had players in mind as possible replacements but would not commit to mentioning names, nor would he shed light on Palhinha’s future, beyond hinting that ultimately it would be decision made jointly from a financial and technical perspective.
“I won’t make any comments about the situation of Joao, there is nothing new to say to you,” he said.
“It’s the business part of the football club; the people that are taking care of that are doing their job, I’m doing my job as well to work for the football club. Anything can happen in the next 36 hours.
“We made a fantastic season. Of course, you receive some offers for the players. Probably it’s the first time this club are receiving so many offers and big offers for players. That means what we did, (is what) people are looking for.
“Now it’s up to us on the financial side to take decisions and in a technical point of view for me to decide if I receive the OK from the club.
“I will not mention players from other clubs. It doesn’t make sense really. If we expect to lose a player like Joao or I can mention other players who are really important for us, of course we should have a replacement be ready to come and help us because we are talking just two days (left) in the market.
“I’ve said in the last few weeks as well, we sold (Aleksandar) Mitrovic (to Al Hilal) and it’s difficult to replace in the striker position. I’m doing my job, it is (my job) to try to give solutions if the club decides to sell any player from our squad.
“We sold a number nine and it’s not easy to go for the number nine market. What I can promise our fans is that we will go for players if I feel they can be good additions for us and they can add something for our club and our squad.
“Signing players just to sign players for more numbers, we are not going to do, even if you’re short in numbers, like now.”
Fulham have been heavily linked with a move for Everton’s Alex Iwobi, who Silva previously signed when he was manager at Goodison Park.
Werder Bremen striker Niclas Fullkrug, who played for Germany at the World Cup in Qatar last year, has also been linked as the club seek a replacement for the departed Mitrovic, who scored 14 Premier League goals last season.
“If no one leaves our club; we have to add a left-back, another midfielder, another forward player,” said Silva. “It’s clear we need it in terms of depth and to be more competitive.
“I would like to have news for you because it would be good for me as a manager and for our fans because they know the reality as well.”
Silva also confirmed the club are trying to agree a new contract with Harrison Reed despite reported interest from Wolves for the midfielder.
“He’s an important player for us,” he said. “If he wasn’t important, he wouldn’t be playing almost all the games since I joined. We have to add players and not lose players right now.”
St Vincent and the Grenadines, El Salvador register wins in League B battle for promotion
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines kept hopes of a promotion in the Concacaf Nations League alive as they beat Monserrat 2-1, while El Salvador clipped Bonaire 1-0 in Group A of League B on Thursday.
Steven Pierre (42nd) fired home from a delightful Shakeem Adams pass before Cornelius Stewart (86th) converted from the penalty spot to seal a crucial win for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Meanwhile, Donervorn Daniels (88th) scored Montserrat’s consolation in the curtain-raiser of the double-header at Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador.
In the feature contest, host and group leaders El Salvador also secured a crucial win courtesy of Styven Vasquez’s 83rd-minute strike, which came from a Santos Ortiz assist.
By virtue of the results, El Salvador remain atop the standings on 12 points, two points ahead of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (10 points), while Bonaire (four points) and Montserrat (three points) are battling to avoid relegation.
As such, things will be interesting on Sunday’s final matchday as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will face Bonaire in the first encounter before El Salvador cross swords with Montserrat in the feature at the same venue.
Reggae Boyz edged 1-0 by US in Nations League quarter-final first leg
Jamaica's Reggae Boyz were left with a bittersweet taste in their mouths as they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to the United States in the first leg of the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal clash at the National Stadium on Thursday.
It was a match defined by tension and missed chances, particularly for the Reggae Boyz, as Ricardo Pepi’s early fifth-minute strike proved decisive for the visitors, who left a packed crowd of 20,514 fans disappointed at the outcome.
With the win, United States, the reigning Concacaf Nations League champions will be even more confident heading into Monday's return leg in Missouri. Jamaica will be without England-born central defender Mason Holgate for that contest after he was shown a second yellow and then red in the 86th. His first caution was in the 76th.
The Boyz would have been hyped heading into Thursday's encounter on home soil, but quickly had the wind knocked out of their sails when Pepi found the net from a Christian Pulisic through ball to seize an early lead for the United States.
However, the Boyz refused to be cowed and pressed the Americans for an equalizer in what became a fiercely contested match. They had their first real chance to level things in the 12th minute, when Shamar Nicholson powered his way into the box, only to be fouled by United States' goalkeeper Matt Turner.
Demarai Gray stepped up to take the resulting penalty, but Turner rose to the occasion, diving to his right to block Gray’s low shot and keep the United States advantage intact.
Still, the Boyz continued to push forward. In the 36th minute, Kasey Palmer tried his luck from the top of the box, but his shot was comfortably collected by Turner.
Just a minute later, Dexter Lembikisa whipped in a well-placed cross for Nicholson, but his header went well wide of the mark as they continued their search for a breakthrough.
After a slow start to the second half, the Boyz upped the tempo and created multiple close chances in what was their best passage of play. Nicholson had another opportunity in the 63rd minute, but his shot was expertly charged down by Mark McKenzie, who frustrated the Jamaican faithful.
Perhaps Jamaica's best chance came shortly after, in the 65th minute, as Renaldo Cephas sent a teasing cross across the face of the United States goal. Holgate connected but had his shot cleared off the line by Tim Ream.
The resulting corner saw Leon Bailey's curling effort rattle the crossbar, and Damion Lowe’s follow-up was also blocked, drawing loud cheers from the crowd, who wanted a VAR check for a possible penalty.
However, the appeal by both the players on the pitch and their supporters was ignored by Costa Rican referee Juan Gabriel Calderon, resulting in murmurs of frustration through the crowd.
The game briefly paused when tensions flared between Bailey and United States defender Antonee Robinson, an incident symbolic of the competitive spirit both sides displayed throughout.
As the minutes ticked away, Jamaica kept pushing, but the United States defence stood firm. Bailey tried once more in the 73rd minute with a shot from inside the box, only to see it blocked by Ream.
A defensive error by Lowe opened the door for the Americans to threaten late on, with Brandon Vazquez finding himself with space and time in the 84th minute, but his attempt went straight to Jamaica’s custodian Andre Blake.
The final blow for the Boyz came in the 86th minute when Holgate received his second yellow card after a foul on Vazquez, reducing Steve McClaren's side to 10 men and dimming their chances for a late comeback.
Despite the narrow defeat, Jamaica will head into the second leg with hopes of overturning the deficit but will need to be much sharper and more clinical if they hope to progress to the semifinals, as getting by the United States in their backyard will by no means be easy.
St. Jago, Eltham, STATHS and Wolmer’s through to Walker Cup final four
St. Jago High, Eltham High, STATHS and Wolmer’s Boys all advanced to the semi-finals of the Walker Cup knockout tournament after quarter-final wins on Thursday.
St. Jago booked their spot in the last four after a 3-2 win over Calabar High at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.
St. Jago took an early lead before Calabar equalized in the 45th minute through Kevaun Campbell. St. Jago retook the lead five minutes into the second half through Richardo Lewis before Seon Cato made it 3-1 in the 74th minute.
Calabar got a consolation goal through Sheldon Pusey eight minutes from full time but it wasn’t enough.
In the second game of the double header at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, Wolmer’s Boys got the better of St. George’s College 2-1.
Elsewhere, STATHS got a comfortable 3-0 win over Charlie Smith at Calabar to advance while Eltham beat Jonathan Grant 3-1 at the Spanish Town Prison Oval to make it through.
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