Scott Parker is set to step down as Fulham boss amid links of him taking the reins at Championship rivals Bournemouth.
Parker was unable to steer the West Londoners away from relegation this season as the club dropped straight back down into the second tier.
A report in The Athletic now outlines that the former central midfielder’s exit from Craven Cottage will hasten his move to Bournemouth.
The Cherries missed out on an immediate return to the top-flight following their relegation last year, as they were defeated by Brentford - who eventually won promotion - in the semi-finals of the playoffs.
Parker has managed Fulham across 105 matches having been appointed in February 2019 - overseeing two relegations from the Premier League and last year’s promotion, via the playoffs, from the Championship.
Bournemouth are on the lookout for a permanent boss after sacking Jason Tindall in February, after Jonathan Woodgate took over on an interim basis until the end of the campaign.
Woodgate’s contract at the Vitality Stadium is set to expire in the coming weeks and having failed to see the South Coast club promoted via the playoffs, it is unlikely that his deal will be extended.
The report adds that the Cottagers had expected Parker to remain at the club and were anticipating him returning to pre-season training with the players, but this will now not happen.
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Parker’s departure will add to the state of flux that Fulham find themselves in - having been either promoted or relegated for each of the past four seasons.
The club will now be on the lookout for a permanent replacement for the managerial role while they are also hiring a Director of Scouting to help oversee their player recruitment, in a new role which is claimed to be separate from that of chief scout Brian Talbot.
Parker began his coaching career by taking over at Tottenham ’s Under-18 squad - whilst also being instilled as club ambassador at the North London club - but would return to Craven Cottage, where he ended his playing career, as a first-team coach under Slavisa Jokanovic.
He retained that position in the coaching setup at Fulham under Jokanovic’s replacement Claudio Ranieri, whom he replaced in February 2019 - with relegation almost a formality - as boss.
Parker was then retained for the 2019/20 campaign which saw an immediate return to the Premier League after securing a fourth-place finish - missing out on automatic promotion by two points - but achieving promotion with victories over Cardiff City and Brentford in the playoffs.
However, Parker was unable to maintain the club’s status in the Premier League despite a series of encouraging displays in the middle of the campaign, with the club picking up just two points in their final 10 league matches.
Parker is the brother-in-law of midfielder Harry Arter, who spent a decade-long playing career at Bournemouth between 2010 and 2020.
