Fulham have now admitted their bid to lure the burly striker to Craven Cottage has failed after manager Roy Hodgson met with Viduka to discuss a deal.

Viduka is a free agent after his contract with Newcastle United ran out at the end of last season. He has been linked with various clubs in the EPL, and even a return to the Magpies despite their relegation to the Championship.

This week Portsmouth boss Paul Hart claimed he had agreed a deal to sign Viduka for next season in June...but then heard nothing more about it from Viduka.

The legendary Aussie hitman is said to have spent the summer sailing in the Meditarranean off the Croatian coast, according to Hart.

Viduka has been heavily linked with a move to Fulham with many UK newspapers predicting his signing would be announced yesterday.

But on the eve of the new EPL season starting tonight, Hodgson revealed he met Viduka to disuss a move to join Socceroo team-mate Mark Schwarzer, who has just signed a new one year extension with the club.

And he immediately realised there was no hope of a deal being reached.

"I met Mark when he came down to London and spent a bit of time with him to ascertain what his intentions were," he said.

"I wanted to know if he wanted to continue playing in the Premier League but by the end of our discussion it was pretty clear he'd made his decision to leave it behind and start a new life.

"With Mark it was always going to be a long shot because we realised when he left Newcastle, it wasn't to go somewhere else, it was to start a new life."

Viduka is reported to have been in contact with Hajduk Split in Croatia where close friend and former Wigan star Josip Skoko now plays.

However he is also said to have been considering retirement, despite Australia's qualification for next year's World Cup and coach Pim Verbeek's offer of an instant return to the side whenever he feels ready.

At the close of business in the UK yesterday, Socceroo skipper Lucas Neill still appeared to be without a club as the day of the new season dawned.

None of the three main contenders for his signature - West Ham, Sunderland and Galatasaray - had announced they had finalised a deal wth him, leaving the Socceroo captain unemployed at the start of the new EPL campaign.

However West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola admitted negotiations for Neill's return to the club he captained for the past two seasons appeared to be slipping away.

He said today: "Lucas Neill was discussing the situation with the club, so you have to ask the club about it.

"It looks like they haven't found an agreement yet and I don't know how it's going to end up, to be honest."