Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is reportedly ready to hijack Steve Bruce's bid to raid former club Birmingham for Olivier Kapo and Sebastian Larsson.Blues boss Alex McLeish is desperate to keep Larsson at St Andrews, and is ready to offer the classy midfielder a five-year contract.

But Larsson is unlikely to want to ply his trade in the Championship next season, and although Bruce has made no secret of his ambition to add both the Swede and Kapo to his Latics squad, Hodgson has also reportedly entered the race for the duo after steering the Cottagers to top-flight safety.

The Fulham boss has been busy in the transfer market already, signing goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and working on deals to lure Bernard Mendy and Louis Saha to Craven Cottage.

But Bruce is also working on other deals, with £3million-rated Turkish star Mevlit Erding and Ghana centre-half John Mesnah on his radar.

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