Fulham are closing in on an £11million deal for England striker Peter Crouch after agreeing to sell Bobby Zamora to Hull, according to the Daily Mail.
Manager Roy Hodgson hopes to sign the Portsmouth star when he returns to London next week – seeing off competition from Sunderland and AC Milan.
Zamora’s £6million transfer to Hull was the key as it enabled Fulham to match Portsmouth’s valuation for 28-year-old Crouch.
He would prefer to move to London rather than Sunderland, despite the Black Cats putting together a more substantial financial package. The former QPR forward will still net around £75,000 a week at Craven Cottage.
Crouch’s agent Jonathan Barnett claimed yesterday that Portsmouth’s financial problems mean a deal is inevitable. He said: ‘I think Portsmouth have financial problems. I think every player is available.
‘You would have to speak to Portsmouth to see if they are willing to sell Peter. He does not feel he has been let down, though. He is a Portsmouth player, he likes the club and thinks a lot of (executive chairman) Peter Storrie and (caretaker manager) Paul Hart. If Portsmouth were to receive an offer from somebody then we would have to listen to it.’
