Fulham told to pay up

Everton have handed Fulham a deadline of 48 hours to complete a move for England striker Andy Johnson or the deal is off.

A £13million transfer was expected to be completed last week but it was delayed after a knee problem was discovered in Johnson's medical.

The original deal would have seen Everton receive an initial fee of £10.5million with the figure rising to £13million based on appearances for the hitman.

Fulham are now are seeking to reduce the first payment significantly after discovering the issue with Johnson's knee.

Everton are prepared to renegotiate but will not accept a big reduction for an England international with a proven scoring pedigree who has also been attracting interest from Wigan and Sunderland.

Fulham have previously pulled out of moves for John Carew and Marlon King over similar issues discovered during medicals but boss Roy Hodgson still expects the deal to go through.

He said at the weekend: "The transfer negotiations are still going on as far as I know"

When asked if former Crystal Palace striker Johnson would become the club's record signing, he said: "I think so. I've no reason to believe he won't. Andy Johnson is a player with great quality. Wherever he's been he's done very, very well. He'll give us balance up front that we're looking for."

Everton will be keen to see Johnson's future resolved quickly with manager David Moyes needing the funds from any prospective sale to finance any further signings.

It is still possible Johnson will remain at Goodison Park despite reports suggesting he had fallen out with Moyes after Fulham made their original bid.