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Agent: Dempsey not being shopped around by Tottenham

Clint Dempsey Tottenham 3 (Getty Images)

By IVES GALARCEP

So maybe Clint Dempsey’s days at Tottenham aren’t numbered after all.

Just three days after a report in the UK claimed that Tottenham was actively shopping the U.S. Men’s National Team captain, Dempsey’s agent stepped forward to refute the claims and stress that Dempsey is not being shopped around.

“I have been in constant contact with Tottenham and they are happy with Clint and he’s happy with the club,” Lyle Yorks, Dempsey’s agent, told SBI. “He’s reporting back shortly. He’ll be back there and will be in Hong Kong (for pre-sesaon) and everything’s good.

“Things could change obviously if a team came in with a big offer, but they are not actively trying to move Dempsey.”

A report in the Times of London last week identified Dempsey as one of the several players Tottenham is actively trying to unload, but according to Yorks, there is no truth to that report.

“There have been no meetings and no discussions. Not with Tottenham or with any other teams about Clint,” said Yorks, who recently completed Jozy Altidore’s transfer to Sunderland. “His focus right now is returning to the team and helping them qualify for Champions League.”

Dempsey scored 12 goals in all competitions for Tottenham last season, and finished with seven goals and four assists in English Premier League club for Spurs.

Tottenham is in the process of overhauling their roster after finishing in fifth place in the Premier League, one spot out of a UEFA Champions League place. Jermaine Defoe, Emmanuel Adebayor, David Bentley, Tom Huddlestone and Scott Parker are just some of the players who have been moved, or are being moved as Andres Villas Boas revamps his roster.

Tottenham has already landed one big-ticket signing in Brazilian midfielder Paulinho, but his arrival is set to be an upgrade from the likes of Huddlestone and Parker. Spurs are currently in the market for a forward to replace Defoe and Adebayor, with Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke a reported target.

Where does this all leave Dempsey? With so many other players already identified as being on the move from Spurs, it seems unlikely Dempsey would be joining the likes of Defoe, Adebayor and Parker on the way out the door at White Hart Lane, and at the age of 30, Dempsey is unlikely to generate the type of transfer offer it would take for it to make sense for Tottenham to move him.

Comments

  1. When Clint Dempsey left Nogadoces…
    they said he would not be able to hang with all-star ins Dallas.
    When he went to Furman they said he’d just be another good player
    When we went to the revolution they said he’d never live up to the hype
    When he went to Fulham they said he’d be lucky to survive they year
    When he went to Tottenham they said it was a bridge to far
    Are you really going to believe all these predictions? The EPL should be about results. Not potential. Not metrics in a speed test. Results. And Clint Dempsey has answered the bell every time.

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  2. “Jermaine Defoe, Emmanuel Adebayor, David Bentley, Tom Huddlestone and Scott Parker are just some of the players who have been moved, or are being moved as Andres Villas Boas revamps his roster.”

    Besides Huddlestone, are any of these other moves anything more than speculation? This article makes all these exits sound like done deals – or pretty close to it.

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  3. I wish Deuce could play the front-man, but it just doesn’t suit his skillset.

    If Spurs would sell Gareth Bale, Dempsey would slot right into his position, roaming from left to right and drifting into the midfield to link up like he did at Fulham. Obviously he and bale are different players, but pace isn’t the only way to beat someone… and I wager if given as many opportunities to shoot, Clint could score just as many wondergoals as Bale does.

    Sometimes having a player like Bale creates issues. He’s so talented you have to make him a focal point, but where is the best place for him? His speed is best used on the wing, so now you have to tuck in midfielders so the speedster can drive forward. Sometimes that tactical uncertainty buries a quality player on the depth chart because you have to load other positions to make room for this one guy to shine.

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  4. It is not possible for Tottenham to sell Dempsey in this season. Dempsey has shown his excellency performance into the last season. But a rumor have occurred that Spurs are trying to sell this 30 years old USA striker. But Tottenham will able to play this player one more season.

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      • The comment is written in the same style of English that is used by my new Nigerian friend who is (hopefully any day now) depositing a large sum into my bank account.

        It’s a pretty neat story actually. He received an inheritance from his long lost uncle that was a prince and needs help finding a secure bank account.

  5. I am watching Sportscenter and somehow Max Friggin Bretos is co-anchoring. Must be a lot of folks on vacay. Or it’s the apocalypse. Still good for him. He was a rubbish play-by-play guy but I liked his enthusiasm for his job.

    I insist this was on-topic.

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    • ESPN puts him on camera all the time. I think that blunder he made, when he used the word “chink” when talking about Jeremy Lin, got his name out there because he seems to be getting more on-camera work now than he did before.

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  6. An article I read said that West Brom was among the only suitors. Bleh…

    But there at least he’d get plenty of playing time…

    Dempsey can’t play in Dembele’s spot; he’s best on the left wing, tucking inside so he can get the ball on his right foot for shots on goal or through balls to the striker(s)…

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  7. Don’t forget that last year’s transfer came at the last hour and Dempsey missed preseason and more but still was third on the team in scoring. AVB seemed to give Deuce a chance to play and he did score some big goals. I think at the price they got him and if they are going to go for all competitions with a deep squad then Spurs should definitely keep him. Why move him now that he has a season of experience with the team?

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  8. Rather than rely on rumor, look at some facts. Dempsey started 22 games last year in league, and played in 29. Remember he came in late and also lost several weeks to injury. On the basis of starts, he got a goal or an a$$ist every second game, in all games, better than one in 3. For a guy who didn’t have a pre-season, came in late to a new club, these are good #’s. In fact, only his last two seasons at Fulham were better. Why would you want to shop someone like that instead of other players who weren’t nearly as productive?

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    • Only if they’re getting a major infusion of talent. CD is a gamer. He by all accounts works his fingers to the bone in training and never gives up on the field. AVB might not want to win on grit and sinew, but…

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  9. Rather than rely on rumor, look at some facts. Dempsey started 22 games last year in league, and played in 29. Remember he came in late and also lost several weeks to injury. On the basis of starts, he got a goal or an assist every second game, in all games, better than one in 3. For a guy who didn’t have a pre-season, came in late to a new club, these are good #’s. In fact, only his last two seasons at Fulham were better. Why would you want to shop someone like that instead of other players who weren’t nearly as productive?

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  10. I suspect the truth is somewhere in between. Spurs would sell him if they got the right offer. If not, AVB likes him and he’ll be handy for Cup and Europa games.

    Personally, I like the West Brom possibility. Love the idea of Leverkusen, but don’t see that happening at all.

    Some of this depends on Clint’s goals. Does he want consistent PT? Does he want to play CL football? I am sure he wants both, but both don’t look likely, not in the EPL anyway.

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  11. Ha ha. Told ya so. The rumors were bunk and the fact that York came out merely sends the message that Spurs aren’t really interested in offers and for clubs not to bother.

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  12. At 30, a major club wouldn’t bid for him. However, one of the clubs that got promoted from the Championship might, just so they don’t get relegated and lose out on millions of TV money.

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  13. From what I’ve heard (albeit) from posters on other sites) I would guess that if they get an attractive offer theyll consider it but they’re not looking for potential suitors and would like him back next season.

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  14. Pay careful attention to the wording: “They are not ACTIVELY trying to move Dempsey.” (Emphasis mine.)

    “Not actively shopping” does not equate to “not listening to offers”. Tottenham may not “actively” be trying to sell him, but that doesn’t mean they won’t sell him if another club does all the legwork and makes the right offer.

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    • No sh!t. “Things could change obviously if a team came in with a big offer, but they are not actively trying to move Dempsey.” Glad you can read

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    • No team, except 3 or 4 in the world, is not ever “not listening to offers.” And I bet Spurs would have even entertained offers from Real Madrid for Bale had they been of suitable size.

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  15. I wish Lyle Yorks would (hint, hint) call up Bayer Leverkusen and see if they would be interested in Clint. Clint would be playing Champions League soccer at Bayer and, I think, be in a much better environment and playing on a team that will be competitive against Dortmund and FC Bayern and Schalke.

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    • Get a clue.
      Clint is the best american player. but he’s not even starter material at tottenham so what makes you think a german team that qualified for the champions league wants to buy him?
      we over-rate our players a little too much.

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      • Not starter material at Tottenham? Last year he started 22 games in league. Considering time lost to injury and arriving late, that means he started at least two thirds of the games he could have started. He had a total of 29 appearances. Compare that to Lennon who had 33 appearances and scored 4 goals with 7 a$$ists compared to Dempsey getting 7 goals and 4 in 29 appearances. Who was more productive? Dempsey was third on the club in goals and third in a$$ists,.Try basing your opinions on facts.

      • The game isn’t played on the stat sheet. There are 12423525x more factors to consider than goals/assists. I’m not saying that Lennon is definitely a better player, but it appears that AVB favors him to Dempsey and if they are moving to the rumored 4-3-3 as their main formation it doesn’t bode well for Dempsey’s starting chances.

        By the looks of it, Dempsey will be a squad player this season. There will obviously be plenty of games to go around since they are in 4 competitions so he should still see a fair amount of time. Its not the ideal situation of starting week in week out though.

      • obviously tottenham doesnt care about all those stats you just mentioned or they wouldnt be trying to sell him.

  16. Glad to see SBI quoting Lyle Yorks by name. Gives the story much more credibility than when story is based on “someone told SBI…” or “someone close to XXXX said”.

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    • Well, it is source journalism. Jouranlists usually agree with their source on the terms of use of any inforamtion disclosed. Now, I don’t know what is used on SBI, but naming or not naming a source is a regular part of jouranlism based on the agreed to speaking terms.

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  17. If something forces an agent to issue a public statement–it’s most likely true.

    Note that the agent frames it that he himself has not been part of meetings about a new contract. Bottom line, he would have no idea if Clint is being shopped or not as the agent wouldn’t be brought into the discussion until a suitor was found. But he didn’t deny that Deuce has been placed up for transfer.

    To further cement my points–I just did a simple Google search and have found a couple stories–from this morning–saying that Tottenham and West Brom are in discussion about Dempsey.

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    • Maybe he hasn’t been apart of new contract talks because Dempsey just signed a new contract last year. Nice detective work though

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    • In Europe, and all ove the world basically, agents also act as head hunters, helping to find teams that are interested in their client, so as to facilitate a transfer. If a team wants to sell a player, it’s in the agents best interest to find an interested party, since they get a cut of the transfer fee, I believe.

      From the club’s perspective, they want the player gone and will gladly take the help of the agent since they also want a higher transfer fee. While i think in the end Dempsey might be going, if Yorks isn’t a part of it, it hasn’t been talked about seriously yet.

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  18. Makes sense. With all the new guys coming in, one or two at least are bound to struggle to fit in. Deuce is a great, reasonably priced jack of all trades who AVB can slot in almost anywhere. Not sure if it’s ideal for Clint but I wouldn’t bet against him carving out a starting spot somehow.

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    • Even if he gets 30 per game and starts Cup matches, it might work out for USA in the WC as they’ll have a fresh, rested Deuce.

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    • I have a really hard time imagining Clint getting consistent run in the starting 11. If AVB goes back to a 4-3-3 like wanted to when he was first hired, it would look something like:

      Bale—–(striker to be named)——Lennon
      —————–Dembele——————
      ———Sandro———-Paulinho———–
      BAE—-Vertonghen—-Kaboul——Walker
      ———————–Lloris————————–

      And Clint doesn’t really have the skill-set to displace any of the front six. He can play a lot of those positions in a pinch, but I wonder if he’s going to be OK with what will primarily be a bench role. Of course, if Spurs suffer half as many injuries as they did last season, he’ll have opportunities…

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      • Pretty much how I see things, as a Spurs fan prior to Clint’s arrival, I don’t know why people aren’t just seeing this as a formation AVB “could” run in certain games. All season long he went back and forth between a 4/2/3/1 and a 4/4/2. AVB is a tactical manager, and I doubt he will run the same formation in every game. Nevermind, just due to the sheer volume of games played in the League, Cups, and Europe that really isn’t possible. Given we lost an entire season of quality DM play due to Sandro’s injury, I don’t know why people aren’t just seeing this is quality competition for Sandro instead of Brave Scotty Parker who looked lost out there and generally killed our chemistry and flow.

      • As a Spurs fan that is the lineup I want to see! Dempsey will still play a lot and there will be injuries, and no do OKC do not move Dembele back for Sandro, when Sandro got injured last year it really affected the Spurs

      • Dempsey is probably first off the bench. He’ll get games in different competitions, congested fixtures, different formations, etc. Also don’t forget one injury and he’s starting. Now if Spurs bring in a world class attacking mid who also plays out wide, then maybe we should be worried.

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