Coleman leads race for Rene

Fulham are set to beat off interest from Premiership rivals Middlesbrough and Everton in the race to sign Austria midfielder Rene Aufhauser.

The club are understood to have agreed terms and a fee, thought to be in the region of £1million, for the 28-year-old Graz AK player.

Aufhauser, who has made 23 appearances for Austria, is expected to sign for Fulham once Chris Coleman has made space for another defensive midfielder on the payroll.

The Fulham manager has made two trips to Austria to watch Aufhauser, who played against England in September and, more recently, scored the only goal in the 1-0 win over Wales.

Aufhauser might be seen as a natural replacement for Sylvain Legwinski should the Frenchman leave Craven Cottage.

Legwinski's agent, Craig Hutchinson, revealed last week that Fulham would not stand in the midfielder's way if he had the chance to join another club.