Fulham appoint Martin Jol as manager

Martin Jol was today confirmed as Fulham's new manager.

The 55-year-old former Tottenham boss has agreed an initial two-year contract at Craven Cottage with the option of a further 12 months.

The Dutchman replaces Mark Hughes, who resigned as Fulham manager last Thursday after one season at the helm.

Jol, who was sacked by Spurs in 2007, was linked with the Fulham role last year but Ajax refused to release him from his post as head coach at the Amsterdam Arena.

He has been out of work since quitting the Dutch club last December and has now spoken of his excitement at returning to the Barclays Premier League.

"I am very happy to join Fulham Football Club, a wonderful traditional club," he told http://www.fulhamfc.com/.

"It is a club with good, solid foundations and a great fan base.

"I am looking forward to being part of the Fulham family and thank the chairman for the trust he's shown in me."

Hughes stepped down from his role last week after guiding the club to an eighth-place finish in the Premier League and earning them a return to Europe via the Fair Play League.

He also built on a reputation initially forged at Blackburn and then Manchester City, where many felt he was unlucky to lose his job, but departed insisting he had had no contact with any other club.

The Welshman's decision left the Cottagers searching for a new manager for the second consecutive summer, after losing Roy Hodgson to Liverpool last year.

Jol will have little time to get his feet under the table, with the Fulham players due to report back for pre-season training on June 23 and facing a Europa League qualifier in less than four weeks' time.

A club statement confirmed: "Martin joins Fulham on an initial two-year contract with the club having an option to extend for a further year.

"He will arrive at our Motspur Park training ground in advance of the players return to training later this month."

Jol moved to Spurs in summer 2004, initially as an assistant to Jacques Santini, after having started his coaching career with stints at Roda JC and RKC Waalwijk in his homeland.

The Dutchman was handed the top job at White Hart Lane when the Frenchman left the following November and won many admirers for the attractive football played under him.

Following his dismissal in October 2007 - he was unceremoniously dumped following the UEFA Cup defeat to Getafe - he spent the 2008/09 campaign at Hamburg before succeeding Marco van Basten as Ajax coach in May 2009.

He helped the Amsterdammers to KNVB Beker glory in 2010 before stepping down last December with the club in fourth place in the Eredivisie standings in what turned out to be a title-winning campaign.

Miroslav Klose leaving Bayern Munich

Germany striker Miroslav Klose is leaving Bayern Munich after failing to agree a new contract with the Bundesliga club.

The Polish-born Klose has been at Bayern for the past four seasons, scoring 24 goals in 98 Bundesliga games. His contract expires at the end of the month.

"Unfortunately the talks with Miroslav Klose have not produced a positive result," Bayern's chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said in a statement on Monday. "We would have gladly extended his contract, but we couldn't find common ground on the duration."

Bayern was willing to give Klose a one-year extension, while the striker wanted a two-year deal. Klose, who won the German double with Bayern in 2008 and 2010, turns 33 on Thursday.

Klose's destination was not known.

"I had four beautiful and successful years in Munich and I'd like to sincerely thank Bayern for that," Klose said in the statement. "It was always something special to be able to play for this club."

Klose has played 109 games for Germany and scored 61 goals, putting him second on the all-time list behind Gerd Mueller's 68.

He will miss Germany's European Championship qualifier in Azerbaijan on Tuesday due to injury.

Klose is coming off a quiet season with Bayern, where he was mostly a backup for Mario Gomez, the Bundesliga's top scorer with 28 goals. Klose managed only one goal in 20 appearances.

But Klose remains Germany coach Joachim Loew's striker of choice and usually gets the nod ahead of Gomez, if fit.

With 14 goals at three World Cup tournaments, Klose is tied for second place with Mueller — one goal less than record holder Ronaldo of Brazil.

Wolves hope to clinch Jamie O'Hara deal

Wolves are optimistic of completing the permanent signing of Tottenham midfielder Jamie O'Hara in the next few days.

Wolves have confirmed that "negotiations are ongoing" with O'Hara, who made a big impact when on loan at Molineux during the second half of last season.

Reports that the deal has already been formally completed are described as "premature".

But the player has already intimated he wants to make a full-time move to Wolves, and manager Mick McCarthy is keen to keep him.

O'Hara impressed playing just behind the central striker and scored three goals in his 13 appearances.

He was relegated when on loan to Portsmouth for the 2009-2010 season.

But O'Hara helped Wolves stay in the Barclays Premier League on the final day of the last campaign with his goal against Blackburn.

O'Hara confirmed to Press Association Sport at the end of the season that "I want to stay at Wolves" as it was a club "which is going forward".

Zoltan Gera in talks over West Brom return

West Brom are targeting their former midfielder, Zoltan Gera, who is available on a free transfer from Fulham.

Current Baggies boss Roy Hodgson signed the Hungary international when in charge of Fulham in the summer of 2008.

He wants to be reunited with the 32-year-old and Press Association Sport understands that initial talks have taken place.

Gera is believed to be willing to return to West Brom where he was a fans' favourite.

He made 155 appearances in his four-year spell at the Hawthorns after a £1.5million move from Ferencvaros in 2004.

Hodgson has already signed Ipswich centre-back Gareth McAuley and Preston full-back Billy Jones since the end of the season.

He is also still interested in Blackpool midfielder David Vaughan but may lose out in the race to sign Watford striker Danny Graham, who has also been targeted by Swansea and Cardiff.

Meanwhile, skipper Chris Brunt appears content to commit his future to the Baggies.

He said: "I've got a contract at Albion and until someone tells me otherwise, I'll be be playing here.

"I enjoy playing for West Brom, have got a decent relationship with the fans, and know the ins and outs of the club."

Javier Hernandez stars in Mexico rout

Mexico made a commanding start to the defence of their Gold Cup crown as Javier Hernandez hit a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over El Salvador in Texas.

The 2009 champions breezed to victory against their Central American neighbours with Manchester United striker Hernandez scoring his side's last three in the 60th, 67th and 95th minutes, the latter being a penalty deep into added time.

Efrain Juarez and Aldo de Negris had set up the win with the two opening goals.

Also in Group A's opening fixtures, Costa Rica enjoyed a similarly emphatic start with victory over their Caribbean neighbours Cuba, winning 5-0 at the Cowboys Stadium.

Marcos Urena opened the scoring within seven minutes with goals following from Alvaro Saborio. Urena added his second of the night early in the second half before Heiner Mora scored a minute later and Joel Campbell wrapped up the win.

Darren Bent committed to Aston Villa

England striker Darren Bent has pledged his future to Aston Villa and insisted: "I'm tired of moving around."

Villa look like losing the services of Ashley Young - linked strongly with a move to Manchester United - while Stewart Downing is stalling over signing a new deal.

But Bent, signed from Sunderland for £18million in January, has assured fans he is going nowhere despite former manager Gerard Houllier parting company with the club because of health reasons.

Bent said: "They (the fans) don't need to worry about me. I'm tired of moving around.

"I am at Aston Villa now and I have loved every minute I have been at the club. The people are nice and the staff are nice.

"It's a shame that a big part of what brought me to the club, Gerard Houllier, has left.

"But at the same time I am committed to Aston Villa and I am looking forward to the season coming.

"Every time I go to the training ground, I get a buzz and hopefully it will continue next season."

Bent was signed from Sunderland for £18million in January

Villa are continuing their search for a new manager, with former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti continuing to impress chairman-owner Randy Lerner.

Former England boss Steve McClaren and one-time Tottenham boss Martin Jol are also believed to be under consideration by Lerner.

Villa also continue to be linked with Mark Hughes even though they have insisted his departure from Fulham was not connected with their own managerial position being vacant.

Chelsea baulk at Turkey's £4m price tag for release of Hiddink

Chelsea are to open talks today with the Turkish Football Federation about releasing manager Guus Hiddink from his contract but are understood to be unwilling to meet the £4m compensation the Turks are demanding.

Hiddink, 64, has a year left to run on his £4m-a-year job in Istanbul but is prepared to answer Chelsea's call and take over the manager's job vacated by the sacking of Double-winning Carlo Ancelotti less than an hour after the club's final game of the season at Everton.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is keen to bring Hiddink back to the club he led to the FA Cup when he took temporary charge for three months in 2009 following the sacking of Luiz Felipe Scolari.

However, it is a point of principle with Hiddink that he does not break a contract, and he is insisting he will not walk out on Turkey. Instead he wants Chelsea to agree a compensation package with the national federation so he can depart on good terms. The Turks are understood to want £4m to release Hiddink and Chelsea are claiming the sum is too high. However, it is only the start of a negotiation process that is likely to end with Hiddink departing.

Abramovich is understood to favour Hiddink taking over as manager, with full responsibility for team affairs, as he did two years ago. Since then Hiddink has worked as an informal adviser to Abramovich on an ad-hoc basis. The Chelsea owner also paid the bulk of Hiddink's salary as the Russia coach from 2006 to 2010.

The Dutchman, who has also managed Real Madrid and the Dutch and South Korean national teams, is open to the possibility, possibly only for a year before moving upstairs to become director of football. Last week he made it clear he favours a return to the day-to-day involvement of club football, saying: "I feel energetic and I like working every day."

Some in the Netherlands, however, doubt he would be willing to commit 100 per cent to Chelsea, as he enjoys living in an apartment in Amsterdam and loves to play golf, and would prefer to come to London as director of football.

Guus Hiddink gets vocal during Turkey's 1-1 draw at Group A rivals Belgium on Friday

Chelsea have also discussed the merits of Mark Hughes, who last week invoked a clause in his contract with Fulham allowing him to walk away midway through the two-year deal. Hughes, however, will only be considered as a candidate to be the next manager at Chelsea, where he played for three years from 1995 to 1998, should the deal for Hiddink fall through.

Chelsea are keen for the new manager to be in place by mid-June, giving him a couple of weeks to acclimatise before the first team return to training on 4 July. The club play three friendlies in Europe before heading off to Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong on a pre-season tour later in July.

Their former sporting director Frank Arnesen has meanwhile been raiding the club's reserve side, in his new role as director of football at Hamburg. The Turkish teenager Gokhan Tore, who was born in Germany, is set to sign a three-year contract for the club today, for a fee of around £1m.

It follows Arnesen's moves last week to sign the England Under-21 defender Michael Mancienne and the Italy Under-19 midfielder Jacopo Sala from Chelsea. Hamburg are also keen on a fourth Chelsea player, the Dutch defender Jeffrey Bruma.