Fulham want Martin Jol and Manchester City splash more cash
Fulham representatives are set to meet with Ajax in a bid to try and sign Martin Jol as their manager.
Fulham had hoped to have Jol in charge before their friendly match on Thursday against Halmstads after he told Ajax he wanted to return to the Premier League. The Dutchman is keen to take charge at Craven Cottage, but a change in circumstances has put the situation on hold.
Ajax are set to listen to Jol’s demands of keeping hold of their key players and have extra funds available to strengthen the squad. However, Fulham chief executive Alistair Mackintosh will now meet with Ajax officials in Amsterdam to try and push through a deal.
“Ajax know about the offer from Fulham. We'll talk again in the morning about the future of Ajax,” Jol said.
Ajax may be too late in attempting to keep hold of Jol.
In other football stories, Manchester City will make an attempt to sign Benfica midfielder Ramires. The Brazilian is valued at around £30million and featured at the World Cup. City are looking at Ramires as a deal to sign Aston Villa’s James Milner may not go through. Also, City manager Roberto Mancini is confident of completing a £23million move for Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is set to reject Manchester City to stay at La Liga champions Barcelona. Ibrahimovic was expected to be shown the exit at the Camp Nou, but it looks like he will stay on at Barcelona for at least another season following his big-money move from Inter Milan in 2009.
Benjani is available on a free transfer after being released by Manchester City with Wolves, West Ham and Blackburn battling to sign the Zimbabwean striker, while Wolfsburg boss Steve McClaren has been unable to get Craig Bellamy on loan from City.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson wants to sign Germany playmaker Mesut Özil. The Werder Bremen star has been made available as they don’t want to lose him on a free transfer when his contract expires next year.
Premier League champions Chelsea have had a bid of £16.9million for 18-year-old Brazilian Neymar rejected by his club Santos. Also, Chelsea chairman has warned Ashley Cole against a summer move to Real Madrid. The left-back, as well as defender Ricardo Carvalho, is wanted by former manager José Mourinho at the Bernabéu.
Xavi has told Arsenal they only have Cesc Fabrégas “on loan,” and it will be a matter of time before he leaves Arsenal and returns to Barcelona. Meanwhile, Arsenal have offered Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer a player-coach role to come to the Emirates. A bid of £2million has already been turned down, but Arsenal could be set to come back with a new-improved offer, despite Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger saying on Saturday interest in the Australian has been cooled.
Liverpool want to sell striker David Ngog in a bid to try and raise some funds, while Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko is close to sealing a season-long loan move to Sporting Lisbon. Also, Tottenham are in line to land Real Madrid star Raúl, who is set to leave this summer and is keen on a move to the Premier League. Real Madrid defensive midfielder Mahamadou Diarra has stated he wants to stay, despite interest from Newcastle United.
West Ham will complete a move for defender François Clerc, but the signing of Tal Ben-Haim is set to fall through after the Israeli failed a medical. Also, the Hammers’ bid of £12.5million for Loïc Rémy has been rejected by Nice.
Titus Bramble will complete a move to Sunderland to team up with former manager Steve Bruce, while Everton striker Lukas Jutkiewicz is going to Coventry on loan. Blackpool are on course to sign Robert Koren on a free transfer, while Celtic boss Neil Lennon has said Portsmouth keeper David James is their top priority this summer to replace Artur Boruc, who signed for Fiorentina last week.
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