Fulham want to keep Edwin van der Sar to stay at Craven Cottage – but the Dutch goalkeeper’s future could be complicated by their insistence that he takes a pay cut when extending his contract, according to a report in the Times this morning.
The Holland number one, who saved Olof Mellberg’s spot-kick to see his country through to the European Championship semi-finals this weekend, only has a year left on his current deal with Fulham and has been consistently linked to Manchester United over the past year. The 34 year-old is Fulham’s highest earner – reportedly on around £40,000 – but the club are seeking to cut their wage bill as they aim to realise Mohamed Al-Fayed’s aim of becoming more sustainable in the top flight.
Chris Coleman is keen to hold onto one of his prized assets and van der Sar, a popular figure in the Fulham dressing room, was voted the club’s player of the season by Fulham fans last month. He had been linked with a return to Holland to play for PSV Eindhoven, but van der Sar dismissed those reports – saying he would only head back to his homeland to return to his former club Ajax.
