Al Fayed may exit Fulham

Fulham and Mohamed Al Fayed have declined to comment on speculation the Egyptian is preparing to sell the club after 16 years.

The 84-year-old has transformed Fulham from a third-tier outfit to an established Premier League side since taking over in 1997, but reports suggest the former Harrods owner is now willing to sell.

Fulham and a representative of Al Fayed opted not to comment when contacted yesterday, with suggestions that Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan is the interested party.

The Whites reached the Europa League final three years ago and last season finished 12th in the league under the guidance of Martin Jol.

Craven Cottage has been revamped, with planning permission in place to redevelop the Riverside Stand and increase stadium capacity to 30,000.

The club is also effectively debt-free after Al Fayed converted previous loans into equity earlier this year.

Reported potential buyer Khan has close sporting ties to London, with his NFL franchise playing one regular season game a season at Wembley for the next four years.

Meanwhile across London, Arsenal’s Theo Walcott has challenged the Gunners to hit the ground running to mount a sustained bid for the Premier League title next season.

The Gunners recorded a 10-match unbeaten league run, sparked by their European win away to Bayern Munich, to snatch fourth place ahead of Tottenham and with it another shot at the Champions League, with a two-legged play-off ahead next month. However, it was inconsistencies earlier in the campaign cost Arsene Wenger’s side and saw them slump as low as 10th in the table following a home defeat to Swansea at the start of December.

England forward Walcott, who was top scorer with 21 goals, believes if the team can get off to a flying start when the new campaign opens.

“We need to remember those moments we had and make sure we do it from the start, because we could be challenging for anything. We could beat anyone,” Walcott said.