Fulham add Ouaddou to late spending spree

Fulham's summer spending spree continued yesterday, with the Londoners announcing the £2m signing of the Moroccan international Abdeslam Ouaddou from the French Second Division side Nancy on a four-year contract.

The 22-year-old defender's arrival at Craven Cottage came less than 24 hours after the club signalled their Premiership ambitions with the £7m capture of the Juventus and Netherlands international goalkeeper Edwin van der Saar.

"I am glad everything has been sorted out," Ouaddou said. "I've signed for four years and hopefully in that time we can win the Premiership."

Fulham's managing director Malcolm Fiddy revealed that Ouaddou's impressive performances during a pre-season trial spell convinced Tigana to ask the chairman Mohamed Al Fayed to splash out once again.

"He has shown commitment and enthusiasm during pre-season training," said Fiddy. "His addition to the squad will be a valuable asset in the Premiership."

After a close season which had threatened to end in disappointment on the transfer front, Fulham have finally begun to land the sort of targets they will need if they are to build on last season's First Division championship victory by consolidating in their first term in the Premiership.

Their French manager, Jean Tigana, had come close to signing the Czech striker Jan Koller from Anderlecht and the Norwegian midfielder John Arne Riise but suffered disappointment on both fronts. Koller dithered over the move before opting for Borussia Dortmund in Germany, while Liverpool stepped in to lure Riise to Merseyside at the last minute.

However Tigana's transfer efforts have at last begun to bear fruit. The 30-year-old Van der Saar, who has agreed a four-year contract, flew into London for a medical yesterday.

The signing of Van der Sar came as the £4.5m deal to capture Lyon's 21-year-old French midfielder Steed Malbranque also neared completion.

"I am happy and relieved to have signed for Fulham," Van der Saar said. "The plans that Fulham Football Club presented to me were impressive, and I especially like their ambition.

"I spoke with the manager and we had a good conversation about the way he wants to play. Jean Tigana wants to go to the top with Fulham, and he proved he can do that with Monaco. I like that ambition.

"At Ajax and Juventus I have played with top teams, and now I want to use my experience to reach the same goal with Fulham."

Tigana, who is convinced the Dutch keeper will prove his worth this season, said: "We are delighted to welcome Edwin to Fulham.

"His playing ability has been proven at the highest level both domestically and internationally and we believe he will be a great asset to the squad."

Van der Sar's future in Italy was thrown into doubt after the recent big-money arrival of Parma's Italian international keeper Gianluigi Buffon at the Stadio delle Alpi.

The Derby County manager Jim Smith has confirmed that Stefano Eranio is to begin talks over a possible return to Pride Park. The Italian midfielder played his last game for the club in May and was given an emotional send-off from Pride Park when an opera singer serenaded him before his return to his home country.

But now the Rams, who have stressed there is no deal as yet for Eranio, are ready to open talks over a return to the club for the 32-year-old who was a favourite with Derby fans.

"I've spoken to Stefano quite a few times on the telephone but we have not finalised anything," Smith said. "There are obviously certain things that need to be sorted out before we go ahead with any kind of deal."

Paulo Wanchope has denied he wants to move to Spain, claiming he is happy at Manchester City despite reports to the contrary in Spain. The Costa Rica striker has been quoted in the Spanish sports newspaper Marca saying that he felt the time was right to join a Spanish club.

City insist they have had no official approaches for Wanchope and the player, who scored five goals in the recent Copa America, claims he does not want to leave.

Wanchope, who also scored in City's 2-0 friendly win over Huddersfield on Tuesday, had been transfer-listed by the outgoing City manager Joe Royle after a disagreement. But following Royle's sacking and Kevin Keegan's appointment as the Maine Road manager, Wanchope is now looking forward to the new season.

"I am very happy at City," he told the Manchester Evening News. "The new manager, Mr Keegan, wants to play in a positive way, which pleases me and I hope I can play a part next season in taking the club back into the Premier League."