Fulham have turned down a bid, thought to be worth £10 million, from Tottenham Hotspur for striker Moussa Dembélé.
The rejection of the bid predates the appointment of Martin Jol although, interestingly, Dembélé was the first player that the new manager mentioned when he spoke of his desire to work with the present squad.
"I know a lot about the squad I inherited," Jol said. "I enjoy watching players like Moussa Dembélé, who I have known for a while."
Tottenham also failed in a deadline day bid for Dembélé in January and are understood to have substantially increased their offer for the 23-year-old Belgian international.
Dembélé has made a big impact, despite injury setbacks, on the Premier League since he arrived from the Dutch club AZ Alkmaar last summer for a fee believed to be just under £5 million.
Spurs are understood to have offered a straight cash deal for Dembélé with manager Harry Redknapp desperate to strengthen his striking options.
Given the good times that Robbie Keane had at Spurs under Jol it may well be that the club will try to tempt Fulham again with a player-plus-cash deal.
However, Fulham have shown little interest in Keane in the past - having been offered the 30-year-old striker previously - and Spurs' demand for a £6 million fee on top of the striker's £65,000-a-week wages will be prohibitive.
Spurs are closely tracking the Espanyol striker Pablo Osvaldo, who was also a target for Fulham when Mark Hughes was manager. However, the Spanish club's demands were thought to be too high for Fulham.