Fulham appoint Alvaro Arbeloa as new manager on three-year deal

Fulham have officially announced the appointment of Alvaro Arbeloa as their new manager on a three-year contract. The 43-year-old Spaniard succeeds Marco Silva, who agreed to join Benfica earlier this summer.

"It is a real honour for me to be embarking on this new stage at Fulham FC, the oldest club in London," Arbeloa said. "I feel a great sense of responsibility and I'm deeply grateful to chairman Mr. Khan and vice-chairman Tony Khan for the trust they have placed in me with Fulham in the Premier League."

Chairman Shahid Khan praised Arbeloa's ambition: "Alvaro is, by his own admission, very ambitious. He has spent quality time around the best players, clubs and methods in the game, experiences which will serve him well here at Fulham. Alvaro also has great interest in our academy set-up and believes in giving young players a chance. I loved hearing that from Alvaro, as well as his intent on playing attacking football."

Arbeloa's candidacy was backed by excellent references from recently re-elected Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and the club's new manager Jose Mourinho, under whom Arbeloa played at the Santiago Bernabeu. Arbeloa left Real Madrid at the end of last season and was replaced by Mourinho, who had left Benfica. Silva then opted to move to the Portuguese side as Mourinho's replacement despite contract offers from Fulham. The vice-chairman revealed that Silva had previously "indicated he wanted to stay" but "changed his mind" and surprised the board by leaving Craven Cottage after five successful years.

Other candidates, such as former Tottenham and Brentford boss Thomas Frank, were linked to the job, while ex-Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna was deemed too expensive at £8 million before factoring in his salary and staff costs.

Arbeloa was a youth coach in Madrid before taking over as interim manager following Xabi Alonso's departure in January. He led Real Madrid for the last 28 games of the season, finishing second in La Liga and being knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage by Bayern Munich.

Arbeloa is keen to bring in players, including attacking midfielder Franco Mastantuono, full-back Fran Garcia, and forward Gonzalo Garcia.