Andre Villas-Boas & Leonardo Jardim Rejected Fulham Job Before Claudio Ranieri Appointment

Leonardo Jardim and former Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas were among Fulham's targets to replace Slavisa Jokanovic, but rejected the opportunity to join the Cottagers, according to a report.

With the club bottom of the Premier League table with just five points after 12 matches, Fulham sacked Jokanovic on Wednesday, announcing in the same statement that former Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri would take over as manager. 

Despite the swift appointment, however, it was soon after reported that Arsene Wenger had knocked back Fulham's advances before Ranieri was appointed. It's now also reported in The Telegraph that Villas-Boas and Jardim also rejected the opportunity to join Fulham.

The report claims that the two coaches, in addition to Wenger, 'politely declined' the opportunity to speak to Fulham about taking over, with Jardim being reported as a target for a number of Premier League clubs after his sacking from Monaco last month.

After winning Ligue 1 with Monaco two years ago, he was let go with the club sitting in the relegation zone, before being replaced by Thierry Henry, who has endured similarly poor fortunes since taking over.

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Villas-Boas, meanwhile, has been out of football for a little under a year since leaving Shanghai SIPG in China. He's since dipped his toe in the water of Motorsport, but it's unclear as yet if he has other offers on the table.

Fulham, meanwhile, will 'settle' for Ranieri, and hope that he can bring with him some of the managerial nous that led Leicester to a famous Premier League title three years ago.