Arsene Wenger turned down the chance to make a sensational return to management with Fulham .
Mirror Sport understands that Fulham sounded out former Arsenal boss Wenger as they searched for potential replacements before deciding on Claudio Ranieri.
Wenger is sticking to his vow https://t.co/25MmRUsJBT
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) November 14, 2018
But Wenger, 69, has insisted publicly and has reiterated that he will not take another Premier League job out of respect to former club Arsenal.
Fulham have pulled off a shock by appointing another one of the Premier League’s great managerial characters in Ranieri to replace Slavisa Jokanovic.
But they were looking elsewhere and clearly the prospect of Wenger appealed to Fulham.
? Arsene Wenger has reportedly rejected the Fulham job pic.twitter.com/JbzCHY8fbQ
— 10Bet (@10BetSports) November 14, 2018
Fulham’s owner Shahid Khan and son Tony are close to Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke through NFL circles and, despite everything, the Kroenkes have huge respect for Wenger after the job he did at Arsenal.
But it would have been fascinating to see if Wenger could have turned round a fight against relegation but the Frenchman is, according to sources, waiting on a big European job.
Wenger has been surprised that he has yet to receive an offer from another big European club as he wants to be a day-to-day manager rather than take a director of football role.
Arsenal news: Arsene Wenger in talks with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez pic.twitter.com/i8NmmntZQY
— Bluemax Sports (@SportsBluemax) November 6, 2018
Former Arsenal boss Wenger has been linked with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and would be keen on taking another huge challenge but no concrete offers have come in from one of Europe’s super powers.
Wenger has already turned down approaches from China and been linked heavily with Japan as he insists he will return to work in January.
In the meantime, Ranieri is now charged with pulling off another miracle at Fulham having already won the Premier League with Leicester .
Ranieri said: “It is an honour to accept Mr. Khan’s invitation and opportunity to lead Fulham, a fantastic club with tradition and history.
“The objective at Fulham should never be to merely survive in the Premier League. We must at all times be a difficult opponent and should expect to succeed. This Fulham squad has exceptional talent that is contrary to its position in the table.
“I know this team is very capable of better performances, which we will work on straight away as we prepare for Southampton at the Cottage.”