Martin Jol admits Fulham would love to keep Andy Johnson at the club but indicated that they may be forced to sell if an agreement is not reached.
The 30-year old is entering the final 12 months of his contract but if he does not sign a new deal before Christmas, could be on his way out in the winter transfer period.
Jol acknowledges that Johnson is a key figure at Craven Cottage but says that the club cannot sit and wait around forever.
"We've talked to him over the last month and hopefully we can agree something, but if not we have to get on with it," Jol told the Fulham Chronicle.
"We would like to have Andy on board [for next year], but he's on board [for now] anyway. If he doesn't sign the contract we will continue for this season. It's not a problem.
"Andy is a very good second striker. We play [Moussa] Dembele, Clint [Dempsey] and Bobby [Zamora], but I feel sometimes in a 4-4-2 Andy is one of the best options.
"If there was a club interested in him you could think about it [selling him], but if not I'm happy for him to stay here until the end of the season.
"But for now we need to get an agreement. Last week I thought we were close. We will talk with him again today and hope we can agree something."
