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SOCCER:ROY Hodgson has confirmed Fulham are closing in on Damien Duff. Fulham have offered Newcastle around €5 million for the Republic of Ireland winger, who became a regular at Blackburn when Hodgson took over at Ewood Park in 1997.

Hodgson rates Duff highly and the 30-year-old is keen to move back to west London, where he spent three years with Chelsea.