Fulham have pulled out of a move for Croatian goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa.
The Cottagers first went for Pletikosa in January’s transfer window, but at that point his club Shakhtar Donetsk were not willing to let him leave.
Now Shakhtar are ready to let Pletikosa leave as he is no longer first choice, but the 26-year-old has seen his hopes of a move to West London dashed as Fulham learned that he does not qualify for a work permit
Although Pletikosa has played a number of times over the last two years for his country, Tomislav Butina is now the number one and that means the Shakhtar man does not meet the current criteria laid down by the Home Office – which requires him to have played in at least 75 percent of Croatia’s games over the past 24 months.
It seems Fulham did not even try to win a permit on appeal as it is unlikely the independent panel would rule in his favour.
“I really thought that this time everything would be on my side, but the work permit turned into an unsolvable problem,” Pletikosa told Sportske Novosti.
“I am very disappointed as it seems I have run out of luck.”
Fulham have since snapped up Tony Warner on a six-month loan from Cardiff and they look set to give him the chance to seal a permanent move.
