Fed-up front-man Louis Saha has warned Fulham that unless he is allowed to leave the club for Manchester United immediately he will eventually walk away for nothing.
The 25-year-old, who has scored 15 times for Fulham this season, has again expressed his anger at Fulham's refusal to let him join United, who have already had two bids for the Frenchman rejected.
Although the Old Trafford outfit distanced themselves from reports that a deal had been struck for Saha, manager Alex Ferguson is still hoping to sign the former Metz forward before the January transfer window closes.
An increasingly acrimonious saga has seen Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed and manager Chris Coleman repeatedly insist Saha is going nowhere.
Coleman has suggested the striker, who scored twice in the Cottagers' 3-1 win over the Red Devils earlier in the season, could be allowed to leave in the summer. This olive branch has done nothing to appease a furious Saha, who has delivered another withering assault on Fulham's backroom staff and threatened to make sure they receive nothing for him at all if they don't allow him to go now.
"The club say they would rather sell me in six months' time but I am fed up now," Saha told Le Parisien. "Either I leave now or I am staying at Fulham until the end of my contract which finishes in 2006.
"If Fulham love me that much they are going to have to cope with me until the end and then I will leave them for zero euros.
"Fulham are not honest," he added. "The club's managers keep changing their opinion. One day they say yes to a transfer and the next day they say no. They think I am an object. I however feel that the road which leads to Old Trafford is about to open."
It has been claimed in some quarters that the London outfit would accept a bid of £18 million for the player but United have no intention of going anywhere near that figure. They also believe rumours linking Saha with a move to Chelsea have been instigated in an effort to push the price up but, confident in the player's willingness to join them, will refuse to get involved in an auction.
Time is on United's side as Saha would not be available for a first-team game until January 31st because he cup-tied. They feel that Fulham will eventually buckle because the Cottagers will need time to draft in a replacement.