Fulham have been forced to drop their bid to hire Ajax coach Martin Jol as their new manager after failing to persuade the Dutch club to enter talks over compensation.

It is believed Fulham had already agreed a contract with the Dutchman after being told there was an "exit clause" in his Ajax deal that would allow him to leave.

But Ajax insisted that clause was not valid.

Jol was unhappy at Ajax after initially being told there would be little money available to sign new players, even if stars like Maarten Stekelenburg, Luis Suarez and Gregory van der Wiel were sold.

But he has since held talks with Ajax chief executive Rik van den Boog, who offered assurances that any funds generated from the possible departures of big names would be ploughed back into team strengthening.

Ray Lewington is currently in charge on a caretaker basis, but the likes of Cardiff manager Dave Jones and Ivory Coast coach Sven Goran Eriksson are likely to feature on their wanted list.