August 2013

Martin Jol has confirmed Queens Park Rangers midfielder Adel Taarabt will undergo a medical at Fulham in a couple of days ahead of a proposed season long loan move to the club.

The talismanic midfielder has endured a torrid time at Loftus Road over the summer and was left out of the team’s 18 man squad by Harry Redknapp for their opening match in the Championship last weekend against Sheffield Wednesday. The Moroccan was linked with a move to France and Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint Germain for much of the summer but it now appears he will be making a swift return to the Premier League after suffering relegation with Queens Park Rangers last season.

The talented midfielder was brought to England as a teenager by Jol when he was the manager at Tottenham Hotspur and now, the Dutchman is all set to be reunited with his protégé at Fulham. Taarabt made a handful of starts for Spurs before he was sent out for loan spells at QPR who eventually took up the option of signing him for a meager fee in 2010.

According to Jol, who broke the news at a press conference, the two clubs have an agreement in place regarding the player and the only thing delaying the deal is the medical and Jol added that if that goes well, the player will join the club on a season long loan deal.

Jol added that he likes the creativity of the player and put him alongside Fulham favorite Dimitar Berbatov as players who are moody and are often blamed for their lack of enthusiasm but these are the kind of players that can change a game with one touch and that is something very few players in world football are capable of on this day and age.

Fulham forward Dimitar Berbatov has finally opened up about his relationship with manager Martin Jol and admitted that the Dutchman was the key reason he decided to leave Manchester United for Fulham last summer.

The former Bulgarian international striker scored 15 goals in his first season on the shores of the Thames last term and he puts his goal scoring down to the trust the former Tottenham Hotspur manager shows him on the pitch. The Dutchman was the one who brought Berbatov to English football when he signed him for a fee of £ 10.9 million from Bayer Leverkusen in 2006.

The two were together for just one season at White Hart Lane when he netted 23 goals for Spurs and that was enough for the two to develop a father and son relationship which has again been rekindled since his move to Fulham.

Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson paid a whopping £ 30.75 million for the player in 2008 to bring him to Old Trafford but he never reached the heights of his first season in England and was subsequently sold when United acquired Robin van Persie last summer.

And although several players have previously fallen out with Jol but Berbatov is one who does not fall in that category. Speaking to the club’s in-house magazine, the Bulgarian hero stated that he loves the guy. He added that it had been long since they worked together but he came to the club to team up with him again and it was great because they just click together.

The Fulham also stated that he can see the manager trusts him 100% on the pitch and that is something that inspires him to give it his all for the club on the pitch, which is good for both the club and him.