I believe Frei will stay, while Bidley makes a good point regarding smalling I don't believe it would be in Frei's interest to move on at 18. In addition to this, should Dempsey leave (which I sadly believe he will) then next season will be Frei's opportunity to step up and consequently put himself in the shop window for future seasons. I'm quite excited at the prospect of Frei and Kacaniklic on the wings for a few seasons to come yet, particularly with Dempsey and Davies likely to be moving on and Duff (despite some fine recent displays) probably being phased out or sold over the next few seasons.
Regarding Dempsey, I have my ideas of who would come in for him, personally thinking that Arsenal and if they reach the CL Newcastle would be the sides he's most suited to and who need a player like him. However speculating the club he goes to somewhat misses the point. On a personal level I'm in agreement with every other Fulham fan in wanting him to stay. Yet consider the context, he's 29 so only got 3 years or so left at the top, he's got one year left on his contract, frequently expresses desire to play in the CL, all the big teams allegedly want him and he's been a tremendous servant to the club, so as long as he doesn't do something stupid like writing a newspaper column about how much Fulham held his career back, he will always receive a terrific reception when he comes back here and leaves on good terms. As much as I want him to stay personally, seeing his interview with Murphy the other night when Murphy said how he'd never trained with anyone like dempsey has just reaffirmed how much dempsey deserves a chance at CL football. The only reason I can think of him to stay at fulham is if he's the sort of person who likes being in his comfort zone and want to be the big fish in a small pond so to speak. However, I don't think he's like that and if turns down the chance to move on this summer, he may retire in his mid 30s just thinking what might have been.
As for dembele, I think should Modric leave Spurs then dembele would be the ideal replacement and I imagine Sir Alex may have pinpointed him as a solution to Man Utd's central midfield issues. Dembele's wonderfully improved work rate this season will have increased Sir Alex's admiration for him I'm sure and so we'll do well to keep him. However I don't know why, but I just have a gut feeling he'll stay for another season. I very much hope he does, not just for his performance sake but also but in the hope of commanding a higher fee next summer.
Regarding Dempsey, I have my ideas of who would come in for him, personally thinking that Arsenal and if they reach the CL Newcastle would be the sides he's most suited to and who need a player like him. However speculating the club he goes to somewhat misses the point. On a personal level I'm in agreement with every other Fulham fan in wanting him to stay. Yet consider the context, he's 29 so only got 3 years or so left at the top, he's got one year left on his contract, frequently expresses desire to play in the CL, all the big teams allegedly want him and he's been a tremendous servant to the club, so as long as he doesn't do something stupid like writing a newspaper column about how much Fulham held his career back, he will always receive a terrific reception when he comes back here and leaves on good terms. As much as I want him to stay personally, seeing his interview with Murphy the other night when Murphy said how he'd never trained with anyone like dempsey has just reaffirmed how much dempsey deserves a chance at CL football. The only reason I can think of him to stay at fulham is if he's the sort of person who likes being in his comfort zone and want to be the big fish in a small pond so to speak. However, I don't think he's like that and if turns down the chance to move on this summer, he may retire in his mid 30s just thinking what might have been.
As for dembele, I think should Modric leave Spurs then dembele would be the ideal replacement and I imagine Sir Alex may have pinpointed him as a solution to Man Utd's central midfield issues. Dembele's wonderfully improved work rate this season will have increased Sir Alex's admiration for him I'm sure and so we'll do well to keep him. However I don't know why, but I just have a gut feeling he'll stay for another season. I very much hope he does, not just for his performance sake but also but in the hope of commanding a higher fee next summer.