Former Real Madrid head coach Alvaro Arbeloa is close to agreeing a three-year deal with Premier League Fulham to replace outgoing Cottagers boss Marco Silva.
Silva has ended his five-year spell with the club from South West London by agreeing to be Jose Mourinho’s replacement at Portuguese giants Benfica.
A short but eventful spell in Madrid
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Arbeloa endured a short but eventful four-month spell in the Spanish capital at Real Madrid. The former Liverpool player was handed his first chance of senior management on 12th January 2026.
Arbeloa replaced former Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso in the Madrid dugout, who himself had only been appointed in the summer of 2025.
He had worked his way up through Los Blancos’ youth system, proving himself to be a highly competent head coach. The highlight of his time in youth football was when he guided the U-19’s to a treble in 2023.
When Arbeloa was appointed as Los Blancos boss, he was managing the club’s second team, Castilla, and was highly regarded by the club’s hierarchy.
Arbeloa could be a shrewd appointment by Fulham
Any new managerial appointment comes with risk, especially after the former head coach has provided such stability.
Despite what is perceived as failure as Real Madrid head coach, Arbeloa is still regarded as a head coach with lots of promise and managerial acumen. He did, after all, guide Real Madrid to a 5-1 aggregate win over Manchester City in last season’s Champions League.
However, making the leap from Castilla boss to the head coach of the first team in Madrid was always going to be difficult. It is a massive leap that most head coaches would find difficult. Maybe it was a case of too much too soon.
At Fulham, Arbeloa will be heading into a stable club, with relatively low expectations, and is likely to be given time to implement his ideas.
The Spaniard is known as a coach with good man-management skills. He could be another shrewd managerial appointment by the Cottagers.