Fulham boss Martin Jol was today set to plunder the German Bundesliga again in a bid to bolster a midfield left weakened by the departure of Mousa Dembele to Tottenham Hotspur.
Jol has already brought Croatian striker Mladen Petric from Hamburg and German defender Sascha Riether from Wolfsburg this summer. Now he is ready to pay Wolfsburg £2million for Iran international Ashkan Dejagah.
Riether and attacking midfielder Dejagah were in the same Wolfsburg squad that lost to Fulham in the quarter-finals of the Europa League in the spring of 2010. Now they could link up again, subject to a medical on Dejagah who recently tore a muscle in training.
Should the deal go through, that injury will prevent the 26-year-old from making his debut in tomorrow’s Premier League derby at West Ham.
But Jol has revealed that both John Arne Riise and Bryan Ruiz should make the short trip to Upton Park. Riise missed the defeats against Manchester United last weekend and at Championship side Sheffield Wednesday in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday.
But the Norwegian will reclaim his place from Matthew Briggs if he passes a fitness test today. Ruiz pulled out of the Cup match at Hillsborough just before the kick-off with a suspected hamstring strain. But Jol expects him to play a part against the Hammers.
