Saturday Fulham Stuff - 17/01/26...

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Erik ten Hag to copy Marco Silva with 'surprise' new job after Bayer Leverkusen disaster
Erik ten Hag's new job has come as a surprise - but he could be following Marco Silva's pathway to rebuild his reputation.

That is the verdict from European football broadcaster Andy Brassell, who believes his new role may have been the only one that's available.

Ten Hag was officially unveiled as FC Twente's new technical director this week, returning to the club where he made his name as a player.

The former Manchester United boss had been out of work since his brutal axing by Bayer Leverkusen in September.

Ten Hag was sacked by the Bundesliga club just three games into his tenure, which came less than a year after his Old Trafford dismissal.

The Dutchman was shortlisted for the Wolves job before Rob Edwards emerged as the club's top candidate to replace Vítor Pereira.

Ten Hag also emerged as a candidate to replace John Heitinga at old team Ajax, but has now swapped the dugout for the boardroom.

The 55-year-old will join Twente from February 1, but he will not begin his technical director role until the start of next season.

Ten Hag's surprising new job
Trans Euro Express pundit Brassell exclusively told talkSPORT.com: "It's really curious, Ten Hag taking this job as Technical Director of FC Twente, because he's talked with teams about taking other jobs.

"Of course, he talked with Ajax about going there as coach, and because he didn't feel that the right sporting management was in place, he didn't take those jobs.

"So, it's interesting that he's put himself forward to become the guy who he wanted to work with for someone else, I suppose."

Brassell continued: "He's always felt like a really authentic coach to me.

"So, that doesn't necessarily mean he'll translate into being a sporting director.

"And some of the best sporting directors we've seen in Europe have either never played the game to any sort of standards.

"For me, it feels as if Ten Hag has taken this job. Not necessarily because it's his calling, but because it's the job that's available at the moment.

"Maybe it'll help him. Maybe it'll add another string to his bow. Maybe it'll enable him to take on a job that he wants in the future.

"And if he doesn't have the perfect CEO and sporting director there, he will feel that he can do the job anyway.

"I think if you look at someone like Marco Silva. Going back earlier in his career, he was a sporting director before he was a coach."

'Marco Silva understands angles of the game'
The now-Fulham boss became Estoril's Director of Football in 2011 after retiring as a player, before leading the team to promotion.

Brassell continued: "Then he went on to build his reputation at Sporting from there.

"And so, he understands angles of the game that not necessarily every head coach, slash manager, understands.

"So, maybe in that sense, it'll be beneficial to Eric ten Hag. But it's a little bit of a surprise for me that he took that job."

Over a decade after his stint as a director of football, Silva is now one of the most accomplished managers in the Premier League.

Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno backed his manager to get a job with a 'big club' during an exclusive interview with talkSPORT last month.

talkSPORT understands Fulham have been weighing up Silva's future as tensions mount behind the scenes at Craven Cottage.

The Portuguese coach has been reluctant to sign a new deal, and, as it stands, he will be a free agent at the end of the season.

The 48-year-old has been Fulham's boss since 2021 and last season led them to their highest ever Premier League points tally with 54 - which saw them finish the campaign in 11th place.



https://talksport.com/football/3910017/erik-ten-hag-marco-silva-job-twente-manchester-united/

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Sky Sports: Fulham still interested in move to sign Champions League striker
Fulham's pursuit of Ricardo Pepi reflects ambition and reality colliding

There is a moment in every transfer window when intent becomes visible. Not in the loud proclamations or the recycled rumours, but in the number attached to a bid. Fulham's rejected £26 million offer for Ricardo Pepi was one such moment: a statement of belief, ambition and urgency, quietly rebuffed by a club with little interest in compromise.

PSV Eindhoven's refusal to entertain the proposal, first reported by The Athletic and then on Sky Sports, speaks to Pepi's evolving status. He is no longer a prospect being shaped. He is a striker already performing at the centre of a team with domestic dominance and European aspirations.

For Fulham, this was not speculative curiosity. It was a targeted attempt to accelerate a project that has learned how thin the margins can be in the Premier League.



Ricardo Pepi's rise from promise to production
Pepi's journey to this moment has been deliberate rather than meteoric. Since joining PSV Eindhoven in 2023, he has developed into a forward defined by clarity rather than chaos. His movement is economical, his finishing instinctive, his link-up play increasingly assured.

Across 89 appearances for the Dutch champions, Pepi has recorded 36 goals and eight assists, numbers that suggest consistency rather than hot streaks. This season, however, the production has accelerated. Averaging more than a goal per game across all competitions, he has become integral to a PSV side that has surged to an 11-point lead at the summit of the Eredivisie.

There is context here. PSV are not under pressure to sell. Pepi's contract runs until 2030, and his output has arrived precisely as the club have tightened their grip domestically. In that sense, Fulham were not merely bidding for a striker. They were bidding for leverage, and PSV do not currently need any.

PSV Eindhoven's negotiating strength in January
January is an unforgiving month for buying clubs. Selling sides rarely move unless compelled by circumstance, and PSV Eindhoven have none of the usual motivations. Financial stability, squad balance and title momentum all favour patience.

Pepi's value to PSV extends beyond goals. His physical presence allows them to vary attacking patterns, his pressing fits a system built on control, and his maturity belies his age. To weaken that structure mid-season would require an offer that compensates not just in money, but in strategic certainty.

That is why the rejection was swift. Fulham may return with an improved bid, but PSV's stance suggests that any progress would require a fee that acknowledges Pepi's centrality rather than his market age.

Fulham's striker dilemma and Premier League arithmetic
Fulham's interest is understandable. Raúl Jiménez remains effective but is entering the final stretch of his contract, while Rodrigo Muniz's season has been disrupted by injury, limiting him to just four Premier League starts. Goals, as ever, are both currency and insurance.

Marco Silva's side have built stability through structure and restraint, but survival alone is no longer the ceiling. Pepi represents the kind of forward who could bridge phases: someone capable of immediate contribution while still carrying long-term resale value.

Yet this is where Premier League arithmetic becomes uncomfortable. A £26 million bid, sizeable by Fulham's historical standards, still falls short in a market shaped by scarcity and timing. January inflates prices, and Pepi's form inflates expectations further.

Transfer window implications beyond Craven Cottage
This episode is less about failure than positioning. Fulham have signalled to the market that they are prepared to invest assertively in the right profile. PSV Eindhoven have reinforced their status as a club that develops talent without urgency to sell.

For Pepi himself, the rejection is unlikely to be a setback. If anything, it validates his progress. Interest from England arrives not as speculation, but as recognition of output and reliability.

Whether Fulham return with a revised offer remains to be seen. What is clear is that this pursuit sits at the intersection of ambition and reality, where modern transfers are increasingly decided. Not by noise, but by leverage.



https://eplindex.com/141510/sky-sports-fulham-still-interested-in-move-to-sign-champions-league-striker.html