Fulham will face a fight to hang on to manager Mark Hughes this summer – as the Welshman’s contract expires with him in demand around Europe.
Hughes overcome a sticky start to his tenure in west London and has guided Fulham towards the top half of the table, even if the Whites are still just three points above the drop zone in twelfth. He signed a one-year deal to succeed Roy Hodgson in the summer with an option to extend for a further year, but it remains to be seen whether he will want to stick around at Craven Cottage. Hughes professed himself ‘flattered’ to be linked with the vacancy at Bayern Munich earlier this month as the German giants weigh up replacements for Louis van Gaal.
Hughes is also reportedly on the shortlist of potential replacements for Gerard Houllier at Aston Villa – should the Frenchman decide to leave Villa Park in the summer. He has been heavily linked with the Villa job before and was reportedly among a list of candidates interviewed prior to Houllier taking charge.
