Hull have confirmed the departure of head coach Marco Silva.

The 39-year-old opted to leave his position following a meeting with the club's owners last night.

Silva has been linked with a number of jobs including Crystal Palace, and is Gino Pozzo's number-one choice to take over at Vicarage Road following the departure of head coach Walter Mazzarri following Sunday's final game of the season.

Silva signed a short-term deal in January but failed to stave off the Tigers' immediate return to the Championship.

Hull said in a statement: "The club can announce that Marco Silva has opted to leave his position as head coach. Confirmation had been delayed due to finalising the terms of his release.

"Marco was offered the opportunity to continue the work he has done in the four-and-a-half months he has been at the KCOM Stadium. Unfortunately, after considering his future, he has chosen to leave in order to further his career and departs along with assistant head coach Joao Pedro Sousa, first team coach Goncalo Pedro and goalkeeping coach Hugo Oliveira.

"Although disappointed by Marco's departure, we would once again like to place on record our appreciation of his efforts and those of his support staff. Despite only being in charge for a short period of time, the 39-year-old became a firm fans' favourite and will be forever remembered for his efforts to maintain our Premier League status.

"The club will now undertake a thorough and considered recruitment process to appoint a replacement."