17 May 2004(Mon)

You can't help but feel a little sorry at the moment for Junichi Inamoto.

Is he staying at Fulham, or is he leaving?

His future has been in doubt for several months now, as his loan deal from Gamba Osaka ends at the end of June.

Fulham will not pay the kind of money Gamba want for him to make the deal permanent, but the London club would like to keep him as he has proved himself to be a useful squad member.

So will Gamba allow Fulham to sign him once and for all at a bargain price?

For the sake of the player, I hope that Gamba will agree to sell Inamoto at a reasonable price, even if it is well below the $4 million fee which the clubs are understood to have agreed two years ago.

Times have changed a lot since then.

Inamoto, having spent a barren year at Arsenal, had exploded at the 2002 World Cup, scoring against Belgium and Russia to help Japan into the last 16.

He was hot property, he wanted to stay in London, despite his Arsenal experience, so Fulham was the perfect move.

After one season, Fulham were still not sure of his ability, so arranged a second season on loan from Gamba.

The transfer market has changed since 2002, though, especially at Fulham, who have been drawing some of the smallest crowds in the Premier League to their temporary home at Loftus Road.

One week we hear that Inamoto is finished at Fulham, and he'll be looking for another club.

The next we hear that a permanent deal is still possible.

This is why I feel sorry for Ina.

It must be very difficult for him to concentrate on his game with all this going on in the background.

He must feel under pressure every time he enters the pitch, as if he has to prove his value with every touch of the ball.

Hopefully, Gamba and Fulham can strike a deal, and Ina can sign, for example, a three-year contract.

A fee of around one million pounds, or $1.6 million, is a good deal for both parties.

For a player with so much international experience, and who is a good, honest professional, willing to learn and to play for the team, that fee is good business for Fulham.

Gamba, too, must accept that Ina does not want to come back to Japan, so that amount of money can help balance the books.

Once this messy issue is settled, maybe we will see the best of Ina again.

ends