Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson has revealed the club are ‘very close’ to completing the signing of Gabriel Zakuani from Fulham.

Zakuani, 21, is set to sign a three-and-a-half year contract when his loan deal at Posh expires on 13 December.

Manager Darren Ferguson told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: “Gabby’s agreed he’s going to sign permanently, we’ve just got to iron out a few things.

“It’s a big signing for the club and shows where we want to go.”

Zakuani has been a virtual ever-present in defence for Ferguson’s side since his arrival in September.

The deal cannot be completed until the transfer window opens on 1 January owing to Football League loan rules.

As a result, the Leyton Orient star will miss matches against Leicester, Millwall and Cheltenham in the second half of December.

“It’s the 90 day loan rule and regardless of whether we sign him permanently he will still miss the games up until January 1st,” Ferguson confirmed.

Nevertheless the Posh boss is confident Zakuani will prove to be an excellent capture for the club.

“He’s an out and out defender, very good at one on ones, but he also knows he can improve,” Ferguson said.