Having declared that contract negotiations were off until season's end, Carlton quietly resumed discussions with Fevola's management on Monday and is understood to have all but agreed to terms on a deal that is close to an earlier Carlton offer of around $2.1 million for three years.
An announcement is believed to be imminent, perhaps as soon as today.
Carlton's football operations manager Steven Icke last night confirmed that there had been discussions between the club and Fevola's management, Velocity Sports, this week but would not comment further on the status of the negotiations.
Icke said while negotiations had been put on hold, the club had "continued to talk to his management group".
Velocity Sports' Mark Kleiman and Icke spoke on Monday while in Queensland for the national under-16 championships.
"We did have a discussion with Carlton on Monday," Kleiman said last night.
He declined to comment further.
It appears that Carlton's decision to announce that the negotiations were on hold was, in part, a tactic aimed at killing media speculation of Fevola's situation, which the club believed was a distraction.
Carlton was concerned about the potential impact on an emerging young team that still harbours hopes of playing finals in 2008 when it announced that the negotiations were on hold.
Ultimately, the difference between the club's offer and Fevola's demand was said to be relatively small â€" a gap in the order of $100,000 to $200,000 out of a total exceeding $2 million over three years.
Fevola had said that he wanted to stay at Carlton, and does not appear to have seriously contemplated a shift.
Fevola's contract has been the most talked-about contract in 2008, with much speculation centring on the terms, whether Sydney would make a play for the full-forward and even if Carlton would be willing to trade him, given his erratic track record.
Earlier this year, Fevola was placed on notice that Carlton would sack him if he had another serious off-field breach after he was caught urinating outside a nightclub.
Fevola will become a veteran in 2011, the third year of his next contract, and thus half of his contract would not be counted under Carlton's salary cap.
Even after signing Fevola, Carlton is believed to still have scope in its total player payments to pursue a quality player from another club.
The club's player payments will tighten, however, beyond 2009 as the likes of Bryce Gibbs and Marc Murphy become bigger earners.
Article from: http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/fevola-blues-ready-to-sign/2008/07/31/1217097346252.html