By Chris Barney
South Wales Evening Post

The future of Ferrie Bodde will be decided within 48 hours. The long drawn out saga has dominated the headlines this summer but will be decided before the weekend.

Following the Dutch midfielder's latest plea for Swansea City to let him leave the Liberty Stadium, chairman Huw Jenkins has ordered urgent talks to finalise Bodde's future.

Derby County have been the most vocal of clubs in the race for his signature, with Premier League pair Middlesbrough and West Brom also interested.

The Rams, who have seen two earlier bids rejected, have made another offer believed to be around £1.5million, with possible add-ons.

Their initial interest in the 26-year-old was confirmed in mid-May, but patience is wearing thin at Swansea and Jenkins is demanding a conclusion.

Bodde checked in for pre-season training with Roberto Martinez's squad this week, but a statement by him on the Sky Sports website confirmed his desire to leave the club and that his head and heart were not in South Wales anymore.

But with Martinez and Co putting the pieces in place to tackle the Championship, it seems the last straw has been pulled.

Whether Bodde will wear the white of Swansea or white of Derby when the season kicks off on August 9 should be answered soon.

"This situation needs to be resolved sooner rather than later," said Jenkins.

"It is not doing anyone any good - the club, the player or the supporters.

"It is a distraction that we really don't need at the moment. We have just started pre-season training and we are trying to focus on our preparations for the Championship.

"We will be talking it through in quite a bit of detail in the next day or so.

"Roberto and Ferrie had talked quite a bit about it and weighed up what was best for both parties.

"Then you read statements from Ferrie - which he has admitted making - which is a bit disappointing.

"The supporters pay their hard-earned money to watch this club and they keep everyone in their job.

"They need to be treated with a bit more respect and need to know for sure what is happening with their players."

Like Jenkins, Derby's chairman of football Adam Pearson is hoping to put a lid on the situation.

He said: "We have made what we feel is a very good offer for the player and we are ready to talk.

"We are hoping the whole saga will come to an end soon."

By Chris Wathan
Western Mail

Ferrie Bodde's Derby dream looks set to be dashed after Swansea's Championship rivals withdrew their offer for the want-away Liberty star.

It had been understood a deal was ready to be done with two parties ready to negotiate a transfer for the £2m 26-year-old.

But now Derby chief Adam Pearson has accused Swansea of moving the goalposts and has promptly withdrawn his latest offer.

Derby were ready to meet Swansea's valuation - but only with the inclusion of add-on bonuses, namely a additional payment if Paul Jewell's side were to return to the Premier League next May.

But now Pearson has said: "The goal-posts have moved - the price has gone up and we are not prepared to pay it. This is not acceptable. We will not be held to ransom.

"We have formally withdrawn our offer and will watch the situation. It is disappointing because negotiations have been going on for a long time. We felt a deal could be done and the player has said he wants to come to Derby County."

Swansea are known to have talked to Middlesbrough about Bodde while West Brom are also interested in snapping up the former Den Haag man.

But Bodde has made his intent known after he was quoted claiming his heart was already set on Derby.

Now, with Swansea due to leave for their pre-season training camp in Sweden on Monday, boss Roberto Martinez will move quickly to bring this long-running saga to a head.