This summer of change after five years of stability was not entirely what Tony Khan anticipated as Fulham negotiated the finer details of a new contract for Marco Silva.They thought the deal was done and were poised, ready to confirm Silva had agreed to extend his time at Craven Cottage when Benfica swooped in and lured him back to Portugal.After a decade in office, Khan is conditioned to expect the unexpected. The 43-year-old son of Fulham’s billionaire owner Shahid Khan has weathered the nepotism jibes and matured into the role of vice-chairman and director of football operations. He has, by his own admission, developed a thicker skin to accompany his deeper understanding of English football and recruitment successes.There are subtle differences from the world of US sport, where he holds a key executive position at the Jacksonville Jaguars, his father’s other big sporting interest in the NFL, and All Elite Wrestling, his own personal creation which he founded and fronts.At Fulham, Khan the younger runs the club’s football business in a triumvirate with chief executive Alistair Mackintosh and the head coach – Silva for the last five years and now former Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa.’After working together for several years with this consistent run of results, we wanted Marco to stay,’ Khan tells Daily Mail Sport by way of explanation. ‘We had very positive talks. We all get along very well. It’s a very positive friendship between Marco, myself and my dad. We’re all good friends. Tony Khan (left), the 43-year-old son of Fulham’s billionaire owner Shahid (right) has weathered nepotism jibes and matured into the role of vice-chairman and director of football operations His latest move was getting former Real Madrid interim boss Alvaro Arbeloa (centre) to come to west London’I had started planning for the next season and was building scouting bulletins and organising our plans. Marco came in and fully negotiated the contract. We all expected him to sign it and then were taken aback when that wasn’t what happened.’But I completely understand the decision he made to go home and work at a club of that magnitude, with the opportunity to live in his own house with his family every night. Those things made a lot of sense.’Benfica moved for out-of-contract Silva after Jose Mourinho left them for a second spell at Real Madrid, two deals oiled by Jorge Mendes, who is the agent of both managers.Fulham closed the Lisbon-Madrid-London triangle by appointing former Liverpool, Real, West Ham and Spain right back Arbeloa, who ended last season in interim charge of Real following Xabi Alonso’s sacking, after his coaching impressed in the academy and with the reserves.’I’m very grateful to Marco,’ says Khan. ‘I consider him an important friend and a very important person in the history of the club. I know Alvaro really respects the job Marco did, the core we all built and Marco led, coached and strengthened.’That’s part of what made this an attractive opportunity for Alvaro. It is a very important summer for Fulham. It’s a challenge when somebody moves on after that length of time and you move to the next step for the club. But Alvaro joins us at a perfect time. It’s a very exciting time.’Silva was the only candidate interviewed five years ago, when he replaced Scott Parker after relegation to the Championship. He was identified as a perfect fit and proved to be a terrific success. Khan says: ‘My father has been at the Jacksonville Jaguars for 15 years and now over 13 years at Fulham, and Marco has had the longest tenure of any coach at either club.’Silva led Fulham to promotion in his first season, then established the club in the Premier League by finishing 10th, 13th, 11th and 11th. They reached a League Cup semi-final in 2024 and two FA Cup quarter-finals during his tenure. Marco Silva led Fulham to promotion in his first season, then established the club in the Premier League by finishing 10th, 13th, 11th and 11th Arbeloa ended last season in interim charge of Real following Xabi Alonso’s sacking, after his coaching impressed in the academy and with the reservesThis summer they considered and spoke to several candidates before settling on 43-year-old Arbeloa, undeterred by his limited experience coaching on the front line.’Everybody agreed Alvaro was the most exciting, fresh, dynamic and intelligent person we connected with,’ says Khan. ‘And the person we thought would connect with our players and give Fulham the best opportunity going forward. That’s why we hired him.’He worked with Real Madrid’s first team and their young players and has a lot of football experience.’Arbeloa spent two years at Liverpool and a year at West Ham in a playing career decorated by two Champions League wins at Real Madrid, as well as a World Cup and two Euros wins with Spain.’He was a great player,’ says Khan. ‘He knows the Premier League, and his experiences are different to the experiences we have here. Alvaro brings a fresh perspective with his energy, ideas and connections. He is hard working, driven for success. There’s a very bright future with him here for all of us.’Arbeloa’s connections have already secured the services of Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios, talented youngsters from Real Madrid for a combined fee of £42.5million.The bulk of that is for Garcia, a 22-year-old forward who made 30 La Liga appearances for Real last season and won his first Spain cap in June. Palacios is a 21-year-old attacking midfielder whom Arbeloa describes as ‘a magician’ that will get Fulham fans out of their seats.How quickly they settle will determine how far they go towards replacing Raul Jimenez and Harry Wilson, Fulham’s two top scorers in the Premier League last season who both left this summer at the end of their contracts. Arbeloa (pictured playing against Fulham in 2008) made 98 appearances for Liverpool in a two-and-a-half-year spell Gonzalo Garcia has arrived with Arbeloa from Real, having scored 13 times in 51 senior games for the club he joined as a 10-year-old And so has Cesar Palacios, a midfielder who played seven times for Madrid and has represented Spain at Under-20 levelJimenez, who scored nine, has returned to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wilson, who scored ten (and enough screamers for his own Goal of the Season competition), left for Leeds after rejecting a new contract.’Leeds were very interested in Harry Wilson late in the window last summer,’ says Khan. ‘It was such a large amount of money that it was something we had to look at and talk about, but the club made a very important decision keeping him at Fulham.’He scored some very important goals in key situations and has been a strong player through five excellent years. I was hoping he would stay. Leeds got a fantastic player. He’s been very well compensated, which he deserves, and I wish Harry the absolute best in everything he does unless it’s against Fulham.’Khan took control of Fulham’s transfers in the summer of 2016 after finishing 20th in the Championship, the club’s lowest finish since promotion to the second tier under Kevin Keegan in 1999.’I saw the danger of the road the club were on,’ he says. ‘I thought it needed a complete upheaval. I approached my dad and said I really think I should take over the transfers and loans.’I was 33 years old and believed the team could do much better. A few years ago, I never would’ve thought I’d be here saying this. In 2013 [when Khan paid £150million to buy the club from Mohamed Al Fayed] I never would’ve thought I’d say it.’We kept the key players and brought in a completely new squad. The vast majority were new players. That team finished sixth and lost in the play-offs and the next year we got promoted after some important moves in the next couple of windows including Aleksandar Mitrovic on loan from Newcastle.’Mitrovic – signed for £27million after a successful loan and sold for £50million to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia in 2023 after scoring 111 goals in five-and-a-half years at Fulham – must rank among the best deals of Khan’s time in office. His favourite though might be the return of Ryan Sessegnon, five years after a £25million move to Tottenham which brought the popular young left back nothing but bad luck with injuries. Fulham’s top two goalscorers last season, Raul Jimenez (left) and Harry Wilson (right), both left the club this summer when their contracts ended Aleksandar Mitrovic (right) – signed for £27m and sold for £50m to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia in 2023 after scoring 111 goals – must rank among the best deals of Khan’s time in office’When I first started working in the office, Ryan was a talented player coming through the academy and starting to train with the first team,’ recalls Khan. ‘I rode five hours in the car to see his first league match [at the age of 16] against Leeds.’Incredibly, that was 10 years ago this month. To have him back and part of the team now is special, and he’s still a young guy with a great career in front of him at Fulham.’Despite losing Jimenez, Wilson and Issa Diop, sold to Ipswich for £8.5million, Fulham maintain the bones of a strong, settled and experienced team, which Khan expects to be boosted by the progress of talented youngsters.Not only Garcia and Palacios, and wingers Oscar Bobb and Kevin, both 23, but also Jonah Kusi-Asare, 19, a Swedish striker signed for £5million after a year on loan from Bayern Munich and Josh King, also 19, who emerged last season from the club’s prolific academy.Fulham remain active in the transfer market. There has been genuine interest in 19-year-old Thiago Pitarch, another of Real Madrid’s prized young players, whom Arbeloa coached in the youth teams and then gave him his senior debut in February against, you guessed it, Benfica. Signing Pitarch would be an audacious coup for Arbeloa although it appears unlikely.They are close to completing the £30million signing of Southampton’s Northern Ireland international midfielder Shea Charles, who came through Manchester City’s academy and scored the late goal that knocked Arsenal out of last season’s FA Cup.’I’m very happy with what the club has achieved in recent years,’ says Khan. ‘Four years ago, everyone would have considered this to be very successful.’Now it’s a time to try new things but to keep many of these players who’ve been important in the run of success and stability at Fulham. Thiago Pitarch (right) who was given his senior Real debut by Arbeloa, is another young talent on Fulham’s radar this summer They are close to completing a £30million deal for Southampton’s Shea Charles (centre), who knocked Arsenal out of last season’s FA Cup ‘I’m very happy with what the club has achieved in recent years,’ says Khan. ‘Four years ago, everyone would have considered this to be very successful”We’ve had new milestones under Marco, the furthest the club has gone in the League Cup, the most points ever in a Premier League campaign (54 in 2024-25).’I hope we can build on that. We have a strong core with players in their prime who we know can play together and exciting young players who can come in and compete with a young coach.’Hopefully there’s new milestones to hit in the league and cup, but I want to keep the club in a stable position in the Premier League.’