Crystal Palace are attempting to persuade Marco Silva to extend his career in the Premier League by succeeding Sam Allardyce at Selhurst Park, with the prospects of the Portuguese taking up the reins at Porto having receded.

Silva, whose Hull City team were relegated with a 4-0 defeat at Selhurst Park on the season’s penultimate weekend, is expected to confirm his intention to depart after only five months. Porto are understood to have opted against pursuing their initial interest, although there had been suggestions in Portugal Silva had reached a verbal agreement to move to the Estádio do Dragão.

The 39-year-old’s preference had been to remain in England, where he has made a favourable impression despite Hull’s poor away record and the late dip in form which condemned them to a swift return to the Championship. Palace were impressed with the impact he made under difficult circumstances since arriving on a short-term deal in January and have contacted his representatives to make clear their interest. The former Estoril, Sporting Lisbon and Olympiakos manager, who has a 12-month option on his contract at Hull, has also attracted interest from Watford and Southampton.

Palace were shocked by Allardyce’s decision to resign on Tuesday after the 62-year-old sought a break from top-level football following a tumultuous year that saw him save Sunderland, secure and then lose the England job after only 67 days and steer the London club to safety. Allardyce is due a £2m bonus for preserving Palace’s top-flight status, a payment he will receive if he does not accept another post within a specified timeframe, with his discussions with Steve Parish said to be “amicable”.

The Palace chairman is seeking a manager who has Premier League experience and can galvanise the existing players. The club are prepared to enter the transfer market this summer but theirs was a significant outlay in January on Luka Milivojevic – who worked with Silva at Olympiakos – Jeffrey Schlupp, Patrick van Aanholt and the Liverpool loanee Mamadou Sakho. They are conscious, too, of the need to appoint a manager who can eke the best out of Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha, whom the club hope to tie to improved terms.

Sam Allardyce quits Crystal Palace and ‘has no ambitions to take another job’ Read more

The need to recruit and, most likely, integrate a new backroom staff before the players return for pre-season has added urgency to the appointment process. Yet Palace will have to wait until Silva has spoken with the Allams – their target was meeting with the Hull board on Wednesday night and was expected to inform them of his intention to leave.

The former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is unlikely to be interested in the Palace job, though the London club could explore Sean Dyche’s availability at Burnley if their move for Silva is thwarted.

Southampton appear to be the biggest threat, with Silva apparently less inclined to move to Watford to replace Walter Mazzarri. Claude Puel steered Saints to the League Cup final and an eighth-place finish but the Frenchman’s position will be reviewed this summer.

Silva arrived at Hull as a replacement for Mike Phelan and saw the club sell his two best players, Robert Snodgrass and Jake Livermore, during the January window, with a handful of replacements recruited on loan and short-term deals. His final match was a 7-1 home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.