Fulham turn to Dave Jones after Ajax block Jol move

Fulham last night turned to Cardiff boss Dave Jones after Martin Jol admitted he had been forced to stay at Ajax.

The Cottagers were left devastated by Jol's spectacular u-turn yesterday with the Dutch giants insisting he would not be allowed to leave the club under any circumstances.

Jones had been on the shortlist as a fallback option to replace Roy Hodgson since the beginning of the week when news of Ajax's refusal to negotiate with Fulham emerged.

Fulham's players, out on a 10-day, pre-season tour of Sweden, are understood to be excited at the prospect of working with Jones, with the 53-year-old former full-back known to be a good man manager.

The last act of outgoing Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsdale was to urge the club's new Malaysian owners to keep hold of Jones following the club's failure to gain promotion to the Premier League.

At the time Jones - whose team had lost to Blackpool in the Championship Play-Off Final - had been linked with the then-vacant jobs at West Ham and Celtic.

While Cardiff are beset by financial worries, Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed is willing to back his new manager with substantial funds and that support could prove key in luring Jones away from the Bluebirds.

Mirror Sport revealed last week that Jol had agreed a three-year deal but the move could not be rubber-stamped as Ajax categorically refused to let him go.

Fulham chief executive Alistair Mackintosh travelled to Holland to conclude the negotiations but Ajax played their trump card by confirming Jol did not have a clause in his contract allowing him to leave as the west Londoners had believed.

The Dutch giants are even believed to have been willing to take legal action to keep their man before Jol eventually admitted defeat in his bid to quit the club.

He said: "I like Fulham, I like London, I like England, so I was a bit disappointed I had to say no because the board don't want me to go under any circumstances.

"He (Mackintosh) was offering me a good job at a good club with good honest players. I was willing to go there but I'm on a contract.

"We spoke about it for hours. It took a long time, which was probably not good for Ajax, and I had to tell them (Fulham) I had to stay. All these problems, going to court, I don't want that."

A Fulham statement said last night: "On Thursday morning, following talks with Ajax, the club can confirm that it has ceased negotiations for the release of Martin Jol from his contract with the Dutch club.

"Although Fulham had agreed personal terms with Martin Jol, Ajax were not willing to allow him to leave under any circumstances, and have held him to the terms of the contract he signed last summer.

"When Fulham commenced negotiations with Martin Jol, the club was informed that an exit clause existed in his contract with Ajax.

"Subsequent negotiations revealed that the clause was no longer valid and Ajax remained steadfast in their desire to keep their manager, therefore dialogue between the two clubs has now ended.

"Since Roy Hodgson indicated that he wanted to leave Fulham, a shortlist of potential managers was identified, and the club is committed to ensuring that the right candidate is brought on board to continue the club's progress, in the soonest timeframe possible."