Fulham are leading the chase to sign Japan World Cup star Junichi Inamoto from Arsenal.

Gamba Osaka of Japan's J League claim to still hold the 22-year-old's registration, according to Soccernet.

There are several rumours concerning Inamoto's contractual position, among those are that he indeed only has been on loan with Arsenal for a year with an option to buy. The option wasn't taken up before the World Cup.

This doesn't look very feasible when you look at arsenal.com's squad page, where Inamoto is presented as the first Japanese player to make a permanent transfer to English football.

Maybe a clarification from the club is in order?