Jol on Pogrebnyak future

Fulham boss Martin Jol is confident striker Pavel Pogrebnyak will sign an extended deal at Craven Cottage in the summer.

The Russian international moved to the Cottagers on a short-term deal in January, joining from German side Stuttgart until the end of the current campaign. Pogrebnyak has been in fine form since his switch to west London with six goals in eight games, which is believed to have attracted interest from elsewhere, especially as he will be a free agent at the end of the season. However, Jol remains confident the frontman will put pen to paper on a new deal at Craven Cottage, despite speculation over his future. "We have made him a very good offer. He likes it here so hopefully my people can agree a good contract with him. I'm confident because if you look at the top five [in the Premier League], if he went to one of them he would be in the same situation as he was before," he told the London Evening Standard. "It would be like, for example, the situation Jermain Defoe has got at Spurs. And there are other players at big clubs, like Fernando Torres [at Chelsea], who are not playing all the time. That is what you get if you are playing in the top five. "With me, Pavel knows that, if he gives 100 per cent, he starts. He knows that, I've told him. There is not a lot of rivalry up front here, so that should be a good feeling for him."