EVERTON striker Andrew Johnson was undergoing a medical at Fulham last night ahead of a planned £12 million transfer.
The sale of Johnson, 27, would give Everton manager David Moyes the funds to try again for Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Moutinho. Moyes has failed with an initial £11.8 million bid for the 21-year-old Portugal international, with Sporting seemin
gly insisting on a £20 million deal.
Johnson's career at Everton virtually ended last week when he is believed to have been reluctant to play in a friendly at Preston when he heard a move to Fulham was imminent.
Although Everton chief executive Keith Wyness denied at the time that a bid had been received from Fulham, Johnson's days at Goodison Park have been numbered since an angry exchange with Moyes at Deepdale.
Johnson did not travel to Chicago with the rest of the Everton squad on Sunday, heightening the prospect of a move. The England international is believed to want a return to London for family reasons.
Now Johnson has travelled to Craven Cottage for a medical and Fulham will have to break their transfer record to sign him. Fulham paid £11.5 million to Lyon for Steve Marlet in 2001.
Everton will now certainly improve their bid for Moutinho, who expressed a desire to join the club after Sporting's home friendly with Blackburn on Saturday.
The full article contains 235 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
