Fulham have begun talks with Switzerland manager Ottmar Hitzfield with a view to appoint the veteran German coach to replace departed former boss Roy Hodgson. The Craven Cottage outfit has been speaking to Sven Goran Eriksson but the Swede’s exorbitant wage demands could scupper any hopes of a return to the Premier League.

Hitzfield has emerged as the shock candidate to be the next Fulham boss and he arrives on the back of guiding Switzerland to a stunning 1-0 victory over World Cup champions Spain in the two sides’ opening group game in South Africa. However, there was to be no fairytale for the Swiss as they eventually failed to qualify for the knockout rounds.

The former Champions League winner with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund has already spoken with Fulham chief executive Alistair Mackintosh and could make a late debut in the Premier League after spending most of his managerial career in Germany and Switzerland.

The 61-year-old has all the credentials to manage a Premier League club after winning nine league titles in Germany and Switzerland and is only one of three managers who have won the Champions League with two different clubs, the others being Ernst Happel and Jose Mourinho.

However, the German has a contract with the Swiss until 2012 which could prove a barrier to negotiations but Fulham remain confident of getting their man if they intend to go for Hitzfield’s glittering track record.

It appears to come down to either Hitzfield and Eriksson, with early frontrunners like Alan Curbishley, Mark Hughes and Glenn Hoddle all believed to have been ruled out. Former Manchester City coach Eriksson – who has just completed a short spell as Ivory Coast boss at the recently concluded World Cup 2010 finals – is thought to want more than the £1.5 million basic salary that Fulham have offered, but the club is believed to have baulked at his demands.

Tags: English Premier League, football managers, Fulham, Ottmar Hitzfield, Sven Goran Eriksson