Fulham dig their heels in over Clint Dempsey move to Liverpool
• Fee the barrier as Fulham rule out cut-price move
• FSG removes story of Dempsey deal from website
by David Hytner 10 months ago
Fulham have taken a resolute stance over the future of Clint Dempsey, insisting that he will not be allowed to complete a cut-price move to Liverpool simply because he has only 12 months to run on his contract.
The situation took a farcical twist on Wednesday morning when the website of Fenway Sports Group, the Liverpool owners, said that the club had "added Clint Dempsey to a team that came within a game of winning the FA Cup". Fulham were bewildered as they had received no offer from Liverpool. The story was removed from the website.
Liverpool do have a serious interest in Dempsey, who scored 23 goals in all competitions last season, and the United States international would be receptive to the notion of a move to Anfield. But the fee an obstacle. Liverpool would be loth to spend big money on a 29-year-old who stands to become a free agent next summer but Fulham's valuation of arguably their best player is reflected by the words of a club source, who said that a bid of around £5m would be "laughed out of the boardroom."
Fulham and Liverpool did discuss Dempsey's possible transfer earlier in the summer but, as yet, there has been no official approach. "We have received no offers from any club for Clint Dempsey," a Fulham spokesperson said. "We would discourage any club from making a bid for him."
The FSG website video story did explain, when the link was clicked, that Dempsey was only expected to join Liverpool but the damage had been done by the manner in which it was trailed.
