Martin Jol says he will consider whether to offer Mahamadou Diarra a pay-as-you-play deal once the midfielder returns to full fitness.

The Malian international has not featured for Fulham since last December’s 3-0 home defeat by Tottenham and the 32 year-old’s contract expired in June. Diarra has been training at Motspur Park as he attempts to persuade Fulham to offer him a short-term deal and the Fulham manager hasn’t ruled out the possibility despite adding Derek Boateng and Scott Parker to his midfield options over the summer.

He is doing a lot of ball work and the warm-up with us. He needs another three or four weeks before playing games with us or the reserves and then we will make a decision on him.

The former Real Madrid midfielder could feature in some of Fulham’s under-21 fixtures before Jol makes a final decision on whether to extend his Craven Cottage career.