Marco Silva is being lined up for a return to management next season with Benfica. He has been out of work since being sacked by Watford in January but is close to agreeing a two-year contract worth £1.8 million a season in Lisbon, where he would replace Rui Vitória, the under-pressure coach.

Silva emerged from nowhere to become the most in-demand manager in the Premier League over the past 12 months after joining Hull City in January 2017, but a chastening experience at Watford appears to have persuaded him to return to his native Portugal, where he has managed Estoril and Sporting Lisbon.

The 40-year-old attracted strong interest from Crystal Palace and Southampton last summer despite presiding over Hull’s relegation to the Championship before joining