Álvaro Arbeloa has begun his tenure as Fulham manager on a three-year contract at Craven Cottage and is already exploring ways to use his contacts at Real Madrid in the transfer market. Arbeloa arrived at Fulham as part of a three-way managerial exchange that saw José Mourinho move from Benfica to Real Madrid, Marco Silva leave Fulham for Benfica and Arbeloa depart Madrid for Fulham.

His spell at the Bernabéu ended with Real Madrid finishing the campaign trophyless and mired in scandal, but the new Fulham manager arrives with strong references. The BBC reports Arbeloa’s candidacy for the Fulham job was supported by excellent references from Real Madrid president Pérez as well as Mourinho.

In his official announcement Arbeloa said: “It is a real honour for me to be embarking on this new stage at Fulham FC, the oldest club in London,” he said in his official announcement statement. “I feel a great sense of responsibility and I’m deeply grateful to [chairman] Mr [Shahid] Khan and [vice-chairman] Tony Khan for the trust they have placed in me with Fulham in the Premier League. ”

The BBC adds that Arbeloa is interested in three Madrid players: Franco Mastantuono, Fran García and Gonzalo García. All three are currently bit-part figures at Real Madrid and could be made available either on loan or in a permanent deal this summer.

Mastantuono, an 18-year-old attacking midfielder from Argentina, arrived in the Spanish capital for €45million ($50 million) last summer but scored just once in La Liga during his debut season. Arbeloa was full of praise for Mastantuono, highlighting the “extraordinary future” he has ahead of him “because of his talent, his commitment and his mentality.”

Left back Fran García has previously been linked with a move to Bournemouth and looks likely to be surplus to requirements following the arrival of Marc Cucurella. Gonzalo García, a 22-year-old striker, was prolific for Real Madrid’s B team but has found opportunities in the senior side limited due to the presence of Kylian Mbappé.

Real Madrid have repeatedly structured deals to retain future value from players deemed surplus, using sell-on clauses and buyback arrangements, with recent examples including Nico Paz and Jacobo Ramón at Como.

Álvaro Arbeloa is close to finalizing an agreement to become Fulham manager, according to a report in The Athletic. Talks between Fulham and Arbeloa were held earlier this month and both parties are now working to seal a deal that would see him arrive at Craven Cottage as the replacement for Marco Silva, who has taken charge at Benfica.

Arbeloa’s rise to the Real Madrid first-team dugout earlier this year, when he replaced Xabi Alonso, surprised many observers. Few believed he was anything more than an interim appointment, and it was during his time in charge that the wheels began to fall off at the Bernabéu. Performances were inconsistent and a lack of locker-room discipline emerged as a serious problem.

While those issues surfaced under Arbeloa’s watch, the prevailing view is that he was not solely to blame. Similar problems had already appeared during Alonso’s reign, and it is now widely accepted that both managers were, to some degree, victims of a toxic environment at Madrid, even if both Alonso and Arbeloa could have handled some situations better.

The report underlines the challenge facing a rookie coach thrust from academy football into the spotlight of a Clásico giant. Managing larger-than-life egos is inherently difficult, and Arbeloa, despite flashing significant potential, was clearly not ready for the full demands of such an illustrious position. The text notes that only a small number of managers have successfully made the jump from youth coaching to the very top, with Pep Guardiola and Zinedine Zidane cited as rare exceptions.

If confirmed, the move to Fulham would represent Arbeloa’s return to management in the Premier League, giving him an opportunity to rebuild his reputation away from the pressures that afflicted his tenure at Madrid.

Álvaro Arbeloa is reportedly in discussions with Fulham over the possibility of succeeding Marco Silva at Craven Cottage. According to The Athletic, the club have held talks with Arbeloa as they consider options following Silva’s five-year tenure. Silva has already been announced as Mourinho’s replacement at Benfica, meaning any appointment would complete a three-way managerial shuffle.

Arbeloa’s recent managerial record is short but intense. He lasted six months in charge at Real Madrid after being appointed by club president Florentino Pérez in January, following Xabi Alonso’s exit. Previously a coach in Madrid’s youth structure, he had worked with the Under-14, Under-19 and B teams and recorded a 52% win rate during his time with Real Madrid B.

His spell with the first team included a shock Copa del Rey exit to second-tier Albacete, a run of four games without a win in April and the Champions League exit to Bayern Munich. A defeat to Barcelona formally ended any realistic challenge for the league title. Off the field, his tenure was overshadowed by a locker-room altercation between Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni that left Valverde needing hospital treatment. Across 28 games in charge of the first team Arbeloa registered a 64.29% win ratio.

Those results and incidents have shaped the perception of Arbeloa’s readiness for a major senior role, even though he is regarded as a good club man and brings experience as a World Cup and Champions League winner.

At Fulham, he would face a different environment to the Bernabéu. He would not be required to manage the superstar-sized egos that characterised his brief Real Madrid spell and would be less likely to need to mediate a dressing-room civil war. Whether Arbeloa is ready to take on a sustained top-level management job remains unclear, but Fulham’s interest indicates he remains a candidate for Premier League management.