Marco Silva has insisted he is happy at Fulham and excited by the prospect of leading the Whites into another Premier League campaign.

The Portuguese boss addressed the reasons behind his decision to reject lucrative offers from Saudi Arabia to remain at Craven Cottage during this afternoon’s press conference ahead of the start of the domestic season.

Silva again stressed his commitment to the club in his most detailed comments on the approaches he received from Al Hilal and Al Ahly to date:

“I was not close to leaving the club. 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.”

He did stress the importance of strengthening the Fulham squad before the transfer window closes – with the Whites only adding Calvin Bassey and Raul Jimenez during a difficult summer to date.

“We are short in numbers. The market has been difficult for us and others. 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.”