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Crystal Palace are attempting to scupper Porto's move for Hull City coach Marco Silva, sources close to the London club have told ESPN FC. Silva is set to confirm his departure from Hull after triggering a break clause in his contract following their relegation from the Premier League. He is in demand both in England and overseas after impressing at Hull after his arrival at the club in January. Porto were in pole position to land Silva after holding talks with him earlier this week about replacing Nuno Espirito Santo, who stepped down from his role on Monday. Watford have also shown an interest in Silva as they look to bring in a replacement for Walter Mazzarri, but Palace have entered the picture as they seek a successor to Sam Allardyce. Allardyce resigned on Tuesday after guiding the Londoners to Premier League survival, but they will have to act swiftly to land Silva in the face of competition from Porto. PA Sport reports that Silva, who is also a target for Watford, is being considered by Palace along with Claudio Ranieri, Roberto Mancini and Garry Monk. But Wales boss Chris Coleman, who played for Palace between 1991 and 1995 has distanced himself from the vacancy and said he is only interested in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. "All I am thinking about is Serbia. I don't think past that, I can't afford to," said Coleman, who resisted interest from the Premier League after taking Wales into the semifinals of Euro 2016. "I can't control what's said about me outside of Wales, I only care about Wales and preparing properly. I am looking forward to this game, that's where my mind and my thinking is." Meanwhile, Palace winger Andros Townsend has been linked with a summer move back to former club Newcastle following their promotion. Townsend missed the final match of the campaign and has undergone surgery on his Achilles tendon, with club doctor Zafar Iqbal expecting the player to be available again for preseason. "Andros had a minor procedure earlier in the week to remove an irritation to the Achilles tendon," Dr Iqbal said on the club's official website. "He had been struggling with it in the latter part of the season and it was then decided to address the issue at the end of season to allow him to return and be ready for the start of preseason." Information from PA Sport was used in this report.
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