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Fulham manager Martin Jol may turn to Nigel Reo-Coker to reinforce midfield despite defeat of Wigan Athletic

Martin Jol is considering the recruitment of Nigel Reo-Coker, as the Fulham manager attempts to reinforce his midfield.

Fulham manager Martin Jol may turn to Nigel Reo-Coker to reinforce his midfield department

Pointing the way: Martin Jol (left) is keen to bolster his midfield Photo: ACTION IMAGES

By Si Hughes, DW Stadium

11:00PM BST 23 Sep 2012

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Fulham had already lost Moussa Dembélé, Clint Dempsey, Danny Murphy and Dickson Etuhu since the end of last season before Mahamadou Diarra suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury at the start of this month.

After signing Greece international captain Giorgos Karagounis two weeks ago, Jol could make more offers to free agents who can still move outside the transfer window.

Reo-Coker was hoping to secure a move abroad in the summer after choosing not to extend his deal with Bolton Wanderers but interest from Sevilla and Hamburg did not amount to a firm offer. Although he has since been training with Charlton Athletic, their manager, Chris Powell, insists he will not be joining the Championship side.

Other options for Jol might include Owen Hargreaves and Thomas Hizlsperger, who are both out of employment, having been released by Manchester City and VfL Wolfsburg respectively.

In Saturday's 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic, Jol went with the only two fully fit midfielders available to him in Steve Sidwell and Chris Baird. Jol said he was “very proud” of their efforts in a victory secured by goals from Hugo Rodallega and Damien Duff. Yet he appreciates the need for greater depth. Rodallega, who departed from the DW Stadium in May after his relationship with Wigan manager Roberto Martínez deteriorated, chose not to revel in his first-half opener – the first for his new club – converted from a cross by the imperious Dimitar Berbatov.

“I did not celebrate my goal because I have too much respect for Wigan and their fans,” Rodallega said. “My life here over the last three years was unbelievable. I’ve got such good memories of things like scoring the winner at Stoke on the last day [when Wigan secured Premier League safety in 2011]. I’m hoping this goal will start a new chapter for me.”

Wigan have now failed to defeat Fulham in 12 matches. Arouna Kone’s injury-time strike was too late for a reprieve. Martínez was right to say his side deserved a point but he was still disappointed with his team’s performances since the international break. “Maybe we will have to start using players that are a little bit fresh that haven’t been away,” he said.