ROY HODGSON TO SIGN A £5M DEAL TO STAY AT FULHAM

Roy Hodgson, out of contract at the end of the season, has been in talks with Fulham for nearly two months, with the Swedish and Norwegian FAs also expressing an interest.

But after Al Fayed gave the impetus to a deal that could see Hodgson, 62, collect up to £5million in wages and bonuses over the next two seasons, no further delays are expected.

Hodgson welcomes his former club Blackburn to Craven Cottage tonight, and said: “They are a team like ourselves who have to work very hard to maintain Premier League status, so it’s very much a like-v-like battle.”