Marco Silva has admitted he ‘didn’t expect’ Fulham to be ‘this passive’ in the summer transfer window and has called on the club’s board to ‘reinforce’ his squad.

Fulham have made only a single summer signing – bringing in Benjamin Lecomte as a second-choice goalkeeper having loaned Steven Benda to Millwall – and could lose striker Rodrigo Muniz to Atalanta.

Silva, speaking ahead of Fulham’s first Premier League game at Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, told the press this afternoon:

“We had two moments in our plan for the summer. Kenny Tete, Tom Cairney and Josh King – it was important to get their contracts renewed, that was the plan since April. We had to build from there. I didn’t expect us to be this passive. It’s not the ideal scenario … it is the market. I knew what I wanted and the plan was there, but it hasn’t happened. Right now, we need to reinforce.

Fulham has a story where it’s normal that players sometimes come a little bit late or not – I don’t go in that direction. I know what we want and the plan was there. Unfortunately for us, until now we don’t have [the signings]. Right now, it doesn’t make sense to look at this game, or Manchester United because it’s everything very late. Let’s hope until the end of the window we can force [transfers in] the positions that we need.”