Fulham boss Roy Hodgson has confirmed Mark Viduka is leaving England. "I met Mark when he came down to London and spent a bit of time with him to ascertain what his intentions were," he said.

"I wanted to know if he wanted to continue playing in the Premier League but by the end of our discussion it was pretty clear he'd made his decision to leave it behind and start a new life.

"With Mark it was always going to be a long shot because we realised when he left Newcastle it wasn't to go somewhere else, it was to start a new life."

Portsmouth boss Paul Hart revealed yesterday he had agreed terms with the former Newcastle striker in June, but that he had spent the summer in Croatia and hadn't been seen since.