Fulham refuse to deny Shaun Wright-Phillips speculation

Mark Hughes today refused to deny he was trying to bring Shaun Wright-Phillips to Fulham but ruled out a move for his Manchester City team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor.

Hughes has been linked with both of his former players, who have found themselves all but frozen out at Eastlands this season.

City boss Roberto Mancini confirmed this morning he expects Wright-Phillips to leave this month.

One of Hughes' first acts as Mancini's predecessor two-and-a-half years ago was to bring the England winger back to the north-west from Chelsea.

And it appears he is now trying to convince the 29-year-old to return to west London.

"He's a player I've worked with, a player I know," Hughes said.

"There's a number of players out there that there's speculation about that I've worked with before.

"It's unfair for me to comment on specific situations or specific players."

Asked if Fulham had contacted City about Wright-Phillips, Hughes added: "I think those conversations happen all the time in terms of what's available and who you're releasing.

"Those conversations have been had not only with Man City but almost every club in the Premier League.

"Certainly, we've enquired at a number of clubs in terms of what they're likely to be allowing out."

As much as Hughes would like to sign Adebayor, who he also brought to City, it appears the former Arsenal striker is well out of Fulham's price range.

"Manu is a guy who I like as a person," Hughes said.

"As a player, he did well for me. He had problems when he went out of the team but he's a good guy.

"Any team that had a player of the quality of Adebayor would be strengthened.

"But that doesn't mean that we're in a position to bring him here, I have to say."

Money - both in terms of of transfer fee and wages - could ultimately scupper a move for Wright-Phillips, who turned down a new contract at City last year.

Hughes admitted any player coming to Fulham would need to be more concerned about his career than his pay packet.

He said: "I think what we have to offer is a good club, a club that wants to go to the next level, a very good management team and an opportunity to progress their careers if they've stalled.

"People in the game know certainly what I and my team can offer, and the club itself is very well run.

"I'm making a good sales pitch here, but why not?

"People assume that if you give players enought money, they'll come anywhere, but that's not normally the case."

As well as trying to bring players to Craven Cottage, Hughes is also keen to prevent them jumping ship.

Several of his squad are out of contract at the end of the season and while some may be allowed to leave, one man the Fulham boss is desperate to keep is captain Danny Murphy.

Talks over a new deal are progressing well, according to Hughes, who said: "We're very, very hopeful that that will be concluded very quickly."

Fulham look set for a twin boost ahead of Saturday's crunch Barclays Premier League trip to Wigan, with strikers Moussa Dembele and Andy Johnson both back from injury.

Long-term casualty Philippe Senderos has also begun light training with a view to returning next month.