Fulham are close to agreeing a loan deal with Olympique Marseille for Andre-Pierre Gignac, according to reports from France this evening.

Martin Jol had been keen to sign the former Toulouse striker back in August and a deal was in place that would have seen Gignac join the Whites on loan, only for Marseille to cancel the arrangement when they were unable to sign a replacement prior to the closure of the transfer window. The 26 year-old is poised to move to London in January, though, ending an unhappy spell at Marseille, where both his fitness and his attitude have been called into question by coach Didier Deschamps.

According to the French press, Gignac will join Fulham on a six-month loan deal until the end of the season with a set fee of around £6m should the club wish to make it a permanent move. Gignac has made just nine appearances for Marseille this season and has been sidelined since early December with a thigh injury picked up as a substitute against Caen. The forward, who has won 16 caps for his country and scored four international goals, has failed to replicate his fine form at Toulouse that convinced Marseille to sign him for €16m in August 2010.