Fulham midfielder Andreas Pereira has told the Daily Mail that Marco Silva is the most methodical coach he has worked under and that the Whites have ‘made incredible improvements’ over the past three years.

Pereira heaped praise on the Portuguese head coach – saying that his tactical preparations for matches are unrivalled and that Silva compares favourably to any other manager he has played for in his career, including Sir Alex Ferguson, jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal.

“He’s a perfectionist in making the team understand who we’re playing against, the team’s strengths. He prepares our team very well, he organises everything down to the last detail and that makes it easier for us on game day. I think he really has his own style. We have a plan A, plan B. I think he might be the coach who prepares the team the most that I’ve ever had, even down to the details of set pieces, even throw-ins, we know what the other team is going to do. So, I think that’s a huge advantage that we have.”

The Brazilian international also appears to have learned from the interview that placed his future at Craven Cottage in doubt last winter – and stressed his focus on Fulham this summer rather than a potential move abroad, even if the Cottagers are understood to be willing to listen to offers worth more than £16m. Pereira told Jose Seixas:

“I’m living well here, my kids are doing great, and my family is too, so I’m happy here. I’ve had three good seasons here at Fulham and I know the work I’m doing. If something is going to happen, it’ll be God’s will. But I still have two years left on my contract here, so I’m focused on Fulham. I’m going on vacation, I’m going to turn off my phone try to relax as much as possible and prepare for the pre-season.

I would definitely like to return to Flamengo one day. For now, I still have a contract with Fulham and I’m focused on that. But yes, I’m very grateful for all the affection that Flamengo has for me – and Brazil too. Palmeiras contacted my agent. But I felt that, at that moment, I still wanted to stay here in Europe. I still have lot more matches to play here before thinking about a return to Brazil.”

Reports from Pereira’s homeland suggest that the attacking midfielder has actually made his interest in heading back to his former club explicit but that Flamengo will not be able to meet Fulham’s asking price during the summer transfer window. He goes on to discuss his love for PSV Eindhoven, where he played his academy football before moving to Manchester.

“I’ve already played in Spain, Italy and here in England. I went all of my youth development in the Netherlands but I never actually played in the first division there. I still have a very special affection for PSV and I would really like to experience the league, especially with PSV, because of that affection and because I grew up there. Definitely, if I had the opportunity to play there one day, I would really like to.”

The 29 year-old feels Fulham should be proud of their achievements this season – despite an end-of-term wobble costing them a chance of qualifying for Europe.

“I think we came very close to playing in a possible Conference League or Europa League [competition]. It was really down to [small] details. There were games where we were winning at home, for example against Chelsea, and in the last few minutes we gave the game away. So, it’s about the details. It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact things that need to be improved. We’ve been improving for last two years. We’ve already broken the [club’s Premier League] points record. I think each year we are showing incredible improvement for the club, considering where we came from – [coming up from] the Championship. If you look at it, three years later and we’re breaking records. I think we’re on a good path.”

Pereira is desperate to play for Brazil in next summer’s World Cup – and his chances have been helped by the appointment of former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti as the new national team coach. The Italian recalled Pereira to the national squad for next month’s World Cup qualifiers last week and Fulham’s number eighteen has no hesitation in picking his personal highlight of the 2024/25 campaign.

“For me, without a doubt, the best moment of the season was when I scored the goal against Peru. I think for me, al the work I’ve down throguhout my career, a dream to play for the national team … coming into the game and scoring a goal the way that it happened, for me it was something very gratifying and also realising my dream [of] scoring a goal for the national team.

For me, the biggest goal is to be in that 2026 World Cup. I’m going to do everything that I can to show my quality at the club, especially, and to show that I also have it for the national team and can help in the best way. So for me, yes, it’s a big objective. I have that in my head and, of course, it’s a dream. I want to go to the World Cup and, God willing, we can be champions.”