Dempsey To Fulham - Football (Soccer) News And Picks

Dempsey To Fulham
By Tim Robertson
Posted: 5:00 am PDT 2007-01-13

It's January, so Harrods and Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed figured he should have a sale.

Frustratingly for Cottagers fans, that meant another top player leaving the club.

Just months after Steed Malbranque left for Tottenham, Luis Boa Morte last week signed for West Ham, and as is always the way with Fulham, Manager Chris Coleman has been asked to replace him with bargain basements signings.

With his latest move, he might just have done it.

Coleman has tied up a deal for young USA international Clint Dempsey, who joins from the New England Revolution for a fee that could rise to Ł2 million.

At 23, Dempsey is hungry to prove himself in Europe after emerging as one of the best players in Major League Soccer last season.

The Texan was one of the few bright spots for the USA at a disappointing World Cup, and MLS observers have long had him tagged as a player worthy of a Premiership move.

Coleman also made sure he saw plenty of Dempsey before going through with the deal.

"I saw him about two years ago and then saw him playing at the World Cup for the US," the Welshman said. "Then I went out to watch him playing a few times in the States for New England and have always liked him.

"He has all the attributes to be a good player in the Premier League. It's not like he's coming here to sit on the bench. He's coming because we've bought him to make a big impact."

Coleman's judgment should be trusted. He has made a speciality of signing players from MLS, with USA internationals Brian McBride and Carlos Bocanegra joined by Simon Elliott, a New Zealander who joined from Los Angeles Galaxy.

The club are also reportedly pursuing a deal for Oguchi Onyewu, another USA international, who is now at Belgian club Standard.

Dempsey, who has not played since New England lost the MLS Cup final to Houston in November, must now regain match fitness before making his debut, and that might rule him out of a head-to-head clash with Boa Morte when Fulham visit West Ham on Saturday.

Fulham are slight underdogs on WagerWeb.com for the clash, but there is not much between the two teams with the Cottagers at +200 and West Ham +110. Those odds may in fact be a bit generous -- as impressive as Fulham have been at home this season, they have still won only once away from home.

Stats like that will keep Coleman busy in the transfer market, even if he does not have money to spend.

With midfield trio Elliott, Ahmad Elrich and Jimmy Bullard all out for the rest of the season, Coleman wants to strengthen in the middle of the park with former Chelsea man Alexei Smertin.

The Russian is available on a free transfer after being released by Dynamo Moscow last week, and his agent has confirmed that Fulham are one of a number of Premiership clubs to have made an offer -- with West Ham another.

However, Fulham seem to be the favourites. If they pull it off, it would be another clever signing for a manager who has perfected the art of coping with the relentless departures of his best players.

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