Fulham are confident of appointing Martin Jol as their new manager within the next 24 hours on a 12-month rolling contract, Goal.com UK can reveal.
Jol's proposed move to west London hit a stumbling block, with Ajax refusing to negotiate with Fulham over his release, and the former Tottenham manager giving mixed public messages over whether he plans to stay in Holland.
But Goal.com UK understands that Jol has told Fulham today that he wants to succeed Roy Hodgson at Craven Cottage, despite earlier reports in the Dutch media that he is prepared to snub the Premier League club providing Ajax give him the funds to strengthen the squad this summer.
Jol's contract allows him to move in return for compensation of £1million, believed to be the value of his Ajax salary, which was agreed and inserted in his contract when he joined the club 12 months ago.
It is believed that, although Fulham's managerial search has been led by chief executive Alistair Mackintosh, he is not currently in Amsterdam because his partner gave birth to his first child yesterday, a month prematurely.
A delegation led by club secretary Darren Preston is ready to present Jol with a 12-month rolling contract worth around £1.5m a year, including bonuses, which had been agreed in principle between both parties over the weekend.
Fulham expect the Dutchman to put pen to paper by tomorrow, and link up with the club on their pre-season tour of Sweden ahead of their first game against Halmstads on Thursday.
Owner Mohamed Al-Fayed is prepared to hand Jol a £15m transfer kitty, plus whatever profits he can make from player sales. However, rumours of a move for Tottenham's Robbie Keane are believed to be wide of the mark.
Nonetheless, Ajax do not want to lose Jol, who led the club to second position in last season's Eredivisie, and have dug in their heels. Ajax sources told Goal.com UK that Jol had been locked in talks with the club today and was still expected to take charge of Friday's high-profile friendly against Chelsea. The chances of him taking over at Fulham are rated at "50-50", say the sources.
If Fulham cannot seal the deal for Jol, it will be back to the drawing board in the hunt for Hodgson's successor. It is understood that there is no fall-back option however, should the move not be completed.