Depends when his contract is up Val. If it's up in the summer (I don't think it is) then £8m (sadly) is the going rate. In any case, the bidding should begin at £20m.
He's got 18 months left on his contract Bidders so don't worry. If the bid of 8 million is true then that should be thrown on the rubbish heap. We all know how stingy Arsene is (Wouldn't pay an extra 500k for Schwarzer) but that really does take the biscuit. Jol and Wenger don't like one another so really can't see this happening. Also Wenger only bids for players who are lacking in effort and finishing. Jog on Wenger.
I think he'll only be sold if he shows no sign to the club of wanting to sign a new contract for us. If he stays to the summer, then he moves into 'last year of contract' territory, and his price drops and drops. I don't want to see him go, but if he's set on fresh fields, selling now makes financial sense. It wouldn't make a lot of on-the-pitch sense, mind. I don't think a move to Villa would be good for him. Arsenal might be, but if it has to happen we should look to squeeze more out of them than £8m if we possibly can. Let's just hope Clint decides to stay right where he is for the next few years, rather than chase the lure of the Champions league.
Dempsey has to decide if he wants to be a big fish in a small pond, or a small fish in a big pond. I think he'd be better off here where he's all-but guarantied a spot in the starting 11. If he drifts off and joins Tottenham or Liverpool, he will almost certainly have to sit and wait his turn. I think it all comes down to Dempsey's ambition. You can't fault someone for wanting to compete at the highest level (i.e. a spot in the starting 11 on a big five team), but he needs to realize there's risk involved. He could end up like some many good players (Duff and Sidwell for Chelsea, Zamora, Pienaar, Huddlestone for Tottenham, etc.) sitting and watching. If I were to hazard a guess, I think Dempsey will want to move on to a bigger club. He's very confident about himself and his abilities, and he was willing risk his MLS star status and try his luck with Fulham in what's arguably the best league in the world. He's ambitious, and there's no reason to think he's lost any of that ambition now that he's cemented his reputation in this league as a very reliable and dangerous midfielder. Nearly all the players around him in the fantasy league standings are on big teams (Bale, Silva, Van der Vaart, Nani). Obviously, fantasy league rankings don't mean anything in the real world, but they do reflect real-world performances. If Dempsey doesn't move soon (like this summer), his age will start becoming a factor in his ability to rise to that next level.
I hadn't thought about this until I saw the rumours, but Arsenal would probably be a good fit for him. What they need is someone who can fit into a team geared around Van Persie up front, and also contribute goals. I read an article about Chamakh the other day that pointed out he looked the real deal when they first signed him, with 8 goals in his first 10 games or something like that. Then, when RVP came back from injury, Chamakh changed his game to accomodate the big star's return, which led to both goals and confidence drying up. Dempsey wouldn't be in the same category because he scores goals from an attacking midfield position, not just as the out and out front-man. I agree that at Liverpool or Spurs he wouldn't get a regular starting slot, but at Arsenal he just might. Let's hope that Bandy is right about Wenger's refusal to haggle transfer fees, and that his parsimony prevents any move from going through.
Sky sports news suggested last night that he's become sparky's latest target at QPR. But surely Al-Fayed wouldn't do business with him for such an important player. Must say though these dempsey rumours show everything that annoys me about PL fans/journalists. Us Fulham fans know he's been class for years, and now that he's scored a hat trick all of a sudden everyone starts allegedly showing interest in him. Until I hear a concrete offer has been made I'm not going to worry.
As much as it pains me to admit this, I would hold no grudges were Dempsey to leave at the end of the season. The guy has been an absolute hero for us and has remained here a lot longer than some other players whose heads were turned. I do however think he is almost irreplaceable. Sure we could sign a left winger who has a tendency to score important goals but Clint's best attribute is his bravery and passion for the team. The reason he's so good in the air is because he puts himself in the frame to get contact with the ball. The guy is an absolute beast.
I'd feel badly if he left, but I wouldn't blame him or feel like he's cheated us. He's been great for the team - his first goal kept us in the EPL five years ago. And while other players have ascended to step into Fulham's limelight, Dempsey's been the most consistent, durable and (as Bandit pointed out) brave player on the team. In five years, he's had one three-month spell out with injury ... that's it!
I'd have no problems with Dempsey wanting to move to a bigger club who are challenging for Champions League football, but I fail to see why he would want to move to QPR as Sky Sports News are suggesting or Aston Villa for that matter. He has been brilliant for us and still is but if he goes I think Moussa and Ruiz will have to step up their goal scoring big time.
QPR is a smaller team ... makes no sense. Villa are a marginally bigger team and not much closer to the Champion's League. I think it would have to be a team in the top six to tempt him at all.
As an outsider looking in, I don't think Dempsey should leave Fulham. The only top side that could get the best out of him is Arsenal IMO, and there seems to be an air of uncertainty at the Emirates. I think at any other top side he wouldn't be as effective. I don't think it's a coincidence that as Jol's Fulham start to play as a team, Dempsey becomes more and more effective. With Jol's set up, Dempsey's strengths are recognized, and are played into. At any top side they'd expect him to adapt his game to their play style. Fulham is on par with any of the teams pushing for Europa league IMO, and I don't think he'll be tempted to leave if one of those teams make him an offer. As an American, I'm excited to see the Dempsey VS Donavon show on Friday. There's actually some big debates on the MLS's official website on the Donavon Vs. Dempsey and whose the best American player ever. It'll be an interesting game to say the least.
Thanks for the thoughtful input, ManoBear For me, the problem with Donovan is that he's choose to be a big fish in a small pond and has never really given tried to make his mark in a big league. His stint in the Bundesliga was brief and unsuccessful, and his little stints at Everton have been tantalizing, but that's it. Although I think Donovan's the best American player (besides Jon O'Brien) to ever touch the ball, we'll never know how good he really could have been because of his refusal to compete week in, week out at a top level league. And I think that's a loss for him and US football, because he's the one player who (IMO) could have walked onto a big five team in the EPL and made a mark. So for me it's hats off to Clint Dempsey, Claudio Reyna, John Harkes, Carlos Bocanegra and Brian McBride (who's rightly worshipped over here!) for sticking their necks out at the top level, risking their reputations and careers to see if they were good enough. Hat's off, too, to guys like Rodney Rogers, Stuart Holden, Jonathan Spector, Frankie Simik and others laboring in semi-obscurity in the English leagues when they could be making a comfortable living (like Donovan) back in the states. ... and Stuart Holden is the best American outfield player currently working in the EPL. Look at Bolton's winning percentage when he's in the squad and when he's out.
Dempsey might be tempted but if Wenger goes, rumoured, and Mourinho comes in he won't get a sniff. Stay with us Clint, we love you man!
Bidley, better to try and fail than not try at all, which is my point with play-it-safe Landon Donovan. You're a bassist - what if Flea or Les Claypool, played it safe, stayed in the the garage and never joined a band? We'd all be worse off, and less funky, as a result. Eddie Johnson joins a long list of Americans who failed to main an impact in the EPL, but at least they tried, and I admire them for taking the risk.
Bandit, of course I remember Eddie ("the left footed Beckham") Lewis and Kasey Keller ... Keller's first 'keeper job was in Portland, Oregon, (my home town) after playing for the University of Portland. Lewis and Keller were successes, though, and I was on about American failures who graced the EPL.
Would you really call Lewis a success? He was a very good player for Preston in Division One but I wasn't too keen on him here.
