Marco Silva claims he was not close to leaving Fulham this summer and says star man Aleksandar Mitrovic is “ready to play” despite having his head turned by interest from the Saudi Pro League.
The Portuguese manager has also been the subject of plenty of interest from the Saudi Pro League this summer, with Al-Ahli offering him the chance to leave west London.
Al-Hilal, meanwhile, have been trying to sign Mitrovic, which Silva admits turned his striker’s head but insists his forward is in the right frame of mind to play.
Silva said: “We had a moment, and I spoke with him. I won’t hide that one offer made him think, and take some decisions. He never said to anyone in the club he wouldn’t play for Fulham Football Club.
“People can say what they want. He had a very good offer. Sometimes it’s not easy to keep focus.
“He is ready to play. Since working with teammates again, he’s been the Mitrovic I know.”
It was reported that Silva had an offer to manage Al-Ahli worth £40 million over two years.
But despite having just one year left on his contract at Fulham, he turned down the proposal, insisting he is committed to club.
“I was not close to leaving the club,” he insisted. “I said at the end of last season, after two great seasons, we have to be ready for the market. It’s a consequence of our season. Interest in players, in the manager, it’s part of football.
“I received some offers to leave the club. My decision was to stay. I’m happy here. I want to be in the Premier League, and compete in the best competition in the world.”
With Silva’s short-term future at least settled, he reiterated his desire for more incoming signings.
Fulham have only made two summer signings so far – striker Raul Jimenez and defender Calvin Bassey.
“We are short in numbers. The market has been difficult for us and others,” he added.
“Seven players left the squad, we’ve added two, so we need more faces in. The targets are there, we know who we want, we want to add quality. It’s not easy.”
Fulham are hoping to build on their 10th place finish last season, with trips to Everton, Arsenal and Manchester City all to come before the first international break.
