A deal to make England ace Peter Crouch a Black Cat looked set in stone yesterday but is now in doubt after Fulham have waded in with a last minute offer to net the gangly hitman.

The former Liverpool man arrived in Wearside this week to finalise a move to The Stadium Of Light after Sunderland had agreed a fee, believed to be around £12million with the south coast club. But, in a dramatic last minute u-turn Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is set to gazump the deal.

With funds now available to him after The Cottagers agreed a fee with Hull for hitman Bobby Zamora, Hodgson, who guided the West London outfit to seventh place in The Premier League last season, is desperate to add a proven goalscorer to his ranks, and Crouch is his top prioirity.

It's thought the well travelled 28-year-old targetman would be more inclined to move to London rather than the North East, and this could be the ace up Fulham's sleeve. However, wage demands of around £60,000 might be more of a problem for the frugal Cottagers.

The 34-times capped Crouch, who stands at a humungous 6ft 7in made his feelings known publicly that he was desperate to leave Pompey amidst uncertainty over the proposed takeover at Fratton Park.

Hodgson has now stated publicly that he hopes to land the ex-Tottenham trainee, and that there are other targets on his radar too.

He said: "Crouch is a player we're interested in but so are others."