Tomorrow’s News of the World quotes Roy Hodgson saying that he believes Bobby Zamora will stay at Fulham after turning down the chance to join Hull. The Fulham manager also refuses to concede that Zamora’s decision will mean that Peter Crouch will not be joining the Whites, saying that he is still very much in the hunt for the Portsmouth striker.
There was some surprise amongst Fulham fans that Zamora started the pre-season friendly at Peterborough this afternoon. It was thought the former West Ham striker, who had a disappointing first season at Craven Cottage, was likely to move to Hull after the two clubs had agreed a £5m fee. But, according to Hodgson, Zamora has said he wants to stay with Fulham.
We allowed Bobby to talk to Hull but he wants to stay with us and I’m delighted. He didn’t score many goals last season but he will this time because he is a very good technician.
Perhaps Roy’s confidence stems from the fact that Zamora scored two well-taken goals in a 3-3 draw with Peterborough yesterday. It certainly seems as though he’s very happy to have kept Bobby on board.
Encouragingly, however, Zamora’s decision doesn’t seem to mean the end of the line for the Crouch deal.
This will not end our pursuit of Crouch. We have spoken to Portsmouth and to the player’s agent about wages and I am hopeful something will happen.
I’m not sure how true the last couple of sentences are about Dean Marney. We’re in the market for midfielders – that’s for sure – but it’s the first I’ve heard linking us with a move for the former Tottenham trainee. If we were going to buy anybody off Phil Brown, I’d be lining up Michael Turner.
