Fulham in talks to sign Peter Odemwingie from West Brom

The west Londoners have yet to make a formal bid but made contact with the Midlands club at the end of last week to register their interest in the Nigeria international.

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Fulham are willing to pay £3 million plus performance-related add-ons for the 30-year-old but West Brom value the player at the £5m mark.

With doubts surrounding the futures of Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson, manager Martin Jol wants to reinforce his squad with a new striker this month.

Fulham had lined up Marseille’s Andre-Pierre Gignac after agreeing a fee with the French club but the player’s wage demands appear to have scuppered the deal.

Jol is also an admirer of Championship pair Nicky Maynard and Robert Snodgrass but is believed to now favour a move for Odemwingie, who has a proven goalscoring pedigree at the top level and has the mobility and pace that he wants from a centre forward.

Fulham have also been encouraged by rumours that West Brom manager Roy Hodgson has a poor relationship with Odemwingie and is willing to listen to offers for the striker, who scored 15 Premier League goals in his debut season but has followed up with only four in 17 league games this term.

Odemwingie’s future was thrown in doubt last November after Hodgson claimed Albion had got “nothing” out of the player this season, adding he was “difficult to work out”.

Although Hodgson has since claimed he is not looking to sell Odemwingie, it is understood he will allow the former Lille and Lokomotiv Moscow striker to leave if West Brom’s valuation is matched.

Coincidentally, Hodgson is also closely monitoring Bristol City’s Maynard and is expected to move for the 25-year-old if he sells Odemwingie.

There is a growing acceptance among Fulham senior officials that Zamora, who turned 31 on Monday, is for sale at the right price, believed to be around the £5m mark.

Sunderland and QPR have showed the most serious interest in the striker, but the bad blood that exists between owner Mohamed Al-Fayed and former Fulham boss Mark Hughes has made the Craven Cottage club reluctant to sell to Rangers, who have also had a bid rejected for Andy Johnson.