Liverpool may not be competing in the UEFA Champions League next season, but that's not stopping the Reds from emerging as a reported suitor for U.S. national team star Clint Dempsey.
Multiple reports from England claim that Liverpool is set for a transfer capture of Dempsey in the £7.5 million range that would facilitate his exit from Fulham. Should Dempsey move to Merseyside, he would not get the Champions League soccer for which he has openly expressed his desire, but he would play again in the UEFA Europa League, through Liverpool's Carling Cup triumph.
The reports come after new Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers claimed the club would be making its first signing of the offseason imminently saying, "The reality is we have only made three or four enquiries about players and hopefully can close out one deal this week which will be a real exciting one for the club, one the supporters will absolutely love."
Speculation was thrown into super speed Monday night, when images circulating the Internet of a Dempsey player profile page on Liverpool's website made the rounds, but those have been said to be fake and manufactured.
Here are a few more stories to get your day going:
CLASICO DATES SET
If you've been dying to know when the season's Barcelona-Real Madrid matches will be taking place, the wait is over.
La Liga released its fixture schedule for the 2012-2013 season on Tuesday. Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet on October 7 at Camp Nou in their first league meeting of the season, and Real Madrid will host the second bout on March 3. Madrid and Barcelona will open the season against Valencia and Real Sociedad, respectively.
The two regular-season Clasicos are in addition to the two-legged Spanish Supercopa that the bitter rivals will play at the end of August, meaning at least four matchups are in the cards this season and more are possible depending on how the UEFA Champions League and Copa del Rey play out.
ABOUTRIKA MAKES EGYPT OLYMPIC SQUAD, PRAISES BRADLEY
Egyptian veteran Mohamed Aboutrika has been a central figure in helping patch together soccer in the country following the tragedy at Port Said in February, and he'll get the chance to shine on the international stage once again with the Egyptian Olympic team.
The 33-year-old Aboutrika is one of Egypt's three overage players selected by Olympic coach Hany Ramzy, but before he goes to London to play for Ramzy, he had high praise for Bob Bradley, who came under scrutiny for Egypt's surprise elimination in African Cup of Nations qualifying.
"The political circumstances in Egypt definitely affected the national team’s displays. Bradley should be credited for the work he has done so far and for the fact that he did not abandon the team in such a difficult phase," Aboutrika told FIFA.com. "He is working in exceptional circumstances, and I believe he should remain in charge of the national team."
RANGERS CHALLENGE PLAYERS' TRANSFER STATUS
Five Rangers players have already found new homes with the club not being admitted back to the Scottish Premier League, but those transfers are being challenged by Rangers, who say those players are in breach of their contracts.
Steven Naismith (Everton), Steve Davis (Southampton), Steven Whittaker (Norwich City), Kyle Lafferty (Sion) and Jamie Ness (Stoke City) are all having their moves challenged despite being advised by the Scottish players' union to elect to not carry over their contracts to Rangers when the club moved to a new company, thus making them free agents.
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Would you want to see Dempsey wind up at Liverpool? Who wins La Liga this year, Barcelona, Real Madrid, or a team from the rest of the field? What do you make of Aboutrika's comments? Think Rangers have any grounds to block the transfers of their players?
Share your thoughts below.
Btw does 9.5 million euro sound like a fair offer considering his goals tally last season? Serious question as I don’t know…
In short, I guess I’m saying that they can compete, though I do agree with a commenter below their odds of CL are a little longer than some of the clubs mentioned. Definitely a lot better than Fulham’s odds though.
Lateral move = +1
Bundesliga = way to go.
I don’t see why Liverpool can’t compete for Champions League NEXT year. Especially if they added someone like Dempsey. Name the teams that are miles better than they are. I can think of two. City and Chelsea. Arsenal looks like they’ll lose RVP, United hasn’t found a replacement for Giggs and Scholes (except Scholes himself) or a reliable second striker, Newcastle and Tottenham are talented but by no means surefire competitors for CL. Carroll was looking better at the end of season; Suarez is a great, if widely hated, player; Lucas Leiva will be back, then there’s Henderson, Gerrard, Meireles. They can definitely compete at that level. And trust me, I have no love for Liverpool, which may have to change a little if Dempsey ends up there.
This is the kind of thing I’m talking about. Blame the yanks. A great place for Dempsey.
So yeah, how many EPL titles? A champions League title in 2005 and runner-up in 2007 are a couple of runs. The Europa league is not the Champions League, and no major club would be gloating over that title.
I think that Liverpool is a good move for Dempsey for several reasons:
1) There is a legit chance that Liverpool will compete for a Champions League position in 2013-14. Brendan Rogers is a good manager, they are building good, strong talent in Jordan Henderson and Jonji Shelvey, and they are willing to spend more money to bring in other good players. More
2) Fulham has no chance whatsoever at Champions League football, so I doubt he wants to stay. And nor does Fulham want him to stay. His value this summer is much higher than it will be during the January transfer window given that other teams know that his contract will be up in 6 months.
3) There is a bigger payday for Dempsey with a move to Anfield. I’d guess that he makes about $2million per year at Craven Cottage. I’m sure he will be making at least $3million at Liverpool.
4) Someone already mentioned it on this board…Dempsey’s marketing value is at its peak now. He is easily the most popular American player, which affords Liverpool a huge opportunity to market its brand in the US.
likes others have said, i’m iffy on the move. but i’m not totally against it. if he isnt going to go to Schalke, Valencia, Juve, or PSG, then this isn’t a terrible step to take. even if Liverpool have been sub par, it is still Liverpool. hard to argue in favor of either decision.
You guys do realize when he was 4 to 5 years younger he wasn’t remotely this good, so I don’t understand your point. Certainly if he was that good when he was 24 he’d be worth more, but he wasn’t…
Sorry, meant 29…
Exactly. I don’t understand why people can’t see this. Dempsey is exactly the kind of player that Suarez needs tom play with, and I think Clint would benefit greatly from playing with Suarez and Gerrard.
Dempsey’s 30, and I don’t see Liverpool making the Champions League in the next three years. He’d be a fool to go there if he genuinely wants to pay in the Champions League…
The B stands for Barclays. The official name of the league right now is the Barclays Premier League.
Dempsey is a good player but not that good. He is 29, next season ,when he is free he will struggle to find a PL club.
Liverpool are a good club that has had a bad run ,mainly due to H&G. They should be on the way back up now with good American owners and a new manager.Don’t think they want Dempsey though, they look for promising young talent, under 25.
A very very small number of idiots do not represent Liverpool’s fan base, and the LFC supporters’ groups condemned those fools. Every club has idiots like this.
Better than Manc U.
I have said before that my first (realistic) choice for Dempsey is Schalke. (My pipe dream choice is Dortmund). And last week the Schalke general manager was saying that Schalke is done with transfers for the summer, so I was excluding any move to Schalke. But Schalke Coach Huub Stevens, a heck of a good guy who Dempsey would get on well with, apparently told Kicker magazine this week that the door is still open, and that he would like to bring in a mature experienced player (after losing Raul) to help balance out his young team. There was speculation that Schalke was considering Rafael van der Vaart, but the Schalke sporting director has said that door is now closed because his style does not fit Schalke. So Coach Stevens comments have given me hope that maybe Schalke is still considering making a move for Dempsey.
yeah!! I would love to see Dempsey trading passes with Suarez.
Hmmm. interesting point. never really thought of ol’ Dempsey that way, but you might be right…
A step down from Fulham? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen? What is your basis for this opinion?
Totally agree with your assessment of Arsenal, don’t see Dempsey fitting in there at all. Plus, it could be that Arsenal is going to hit a patch of upheaval soon after the Van Persie bombshell and we will see whether or not Podolski was a good buy or not and can help the team. As for Fulham, Demspey had made his decision and Jol appears to be moving on and I would be surprised if either one reversed course.
So liverpool is a bad move because better teams exist that won’t buy him?
Liverpool suffered from anemic finishing last year from both suarez and carroll. If dempsey can add some potency to the attack, liverpool could be in the conversation for fourth.
Great 30 years ago and since then only a couple of runs? Wrong. Liverpool won the Champions League in 2005 and was runner-up in 2007 and won Europa League in 2001. Liverpool would not be my first choice for Dempsey, but nonetheless would be a great destination for Dempsey and if that is what he chooses I, for one, will be thrilled.
Right, and I’m sure all the fans of the team you support act like Mother Teresa. Get over it. American owners severely handicapped Liverpool to the point where they almost entered administration so I can forgive a couple of drunk scousers making a bad decision.
Of the large clubs in England, I think he fits the best with Liverpool. Probably his best shot at CL football in England. A player like Dempsey is just what Liverpool could’ve used last year with their troubles scoring.
Man U, Chelsea, and Man City aren’t going to pay for him or play him. Arsenal won’t pay that much for someone who isn’t 18 or French.
Yes. Yes I did.
But you can’t expect me to NOT make fun of Suarez can you?
1) Liverpool would be a step down from Fulham
2) The reason the transfer is lower than people’s expectations is because Clint only has 1 year left on his contract. If he had over two years, he’s command more, although with his age, it wouldn’t be too much higher.
I’d rather Clint stayed put till at least the winter transfer window. He won’t be cup tied and if any team wants him for the CL knockout rounds he would be readily available.
This would be a bad move for Dempsey. Liverpool finished 7th last season. He has a better chance at Champions League football & regular playing time with Arsenal or Man U, although neither want him.
Liverpool was great thirty years ago. Since then, they have had a couple of runs in Europe and that is it. If the choice is between multiple years at Liverpool or playing out one more at Fulham and going on a free, he has to think about doing the latter.
True, but I think you get my point
Suarez has shown himself to be pretty ignorant on a personal level, too……
As a third Everton fan, if he’s going to move to Merseyside he should at least move to the club that finished higher up in the table.
Didn’t quite finish there….
E for English but any requirements are for domestically produced talent include youth players who play at academies, and anyone from the “Home Nations” of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and (interestingly since they’ve been separate for 90 years now) the Republic of Ireland.
As another Everton fan – Amen!!!
Was referring to player support. Obviously there’s a lot of ignorance in European soccer when it comes to the supporters but from a soccer standpoint alone i dont think you can really deny this is a step up
EPL
E
Additionally, if Demosey can have a reasonable amount of success at a club like this, it will probably open the door for bigger teams (like Liverpool, and Roma) taking more of what they consider to be “risks” on American players which will only benefit the USMNT. Great move for Dempsey, great move for USMNT, great move for America!
The higher class of support that burns US flags? http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/worldcup/story/american-flag-burning-by-liverpool-fans-should-incense-yanks
Well…
I guess we’re expecting Barca and Real Madrid to duel it out for the Spanish title next year?
Makes me appreciate Major League Baseball, where the Yankees and Red Sox get some competition every third or fourth year in the AL East, and get whupped in the playoffs ever other year.
I truly don’t want Dempsey to start every game or play 45-50 a year. At his age, I’d LOVE to see him a 2/3 starting role at a power club. Save those legs and prolong his best fitness through 2014 at least.
Regards,
A selfish USMNT fan
Am I the only one excited to see the damage he’ll do with the way higher class of support he’ll have at Liverpool. I mean how many suarez”s and Gerrard’s does Fulham have?
If this Dempsey to Liverpool for 7.5 million is for real… then that’s disappointing. The money isn’t right, first of all. And last season, they placed exactly one spot ahead of us in the table. So much for Dempsey’s ambition. Also, for that money, there must not be any other bids for him around the league. That’s a pittance, in my opinion.
Yes, this was the basis of my original comment. Anyone who wants a “rational” reason need look no further than the post made by Thomas.
nice…yes you did go there, didn’t you.
How can Rangers have anything to say. This is a new company not the one the players signed contracts with. That is why the SPL was able to vote them out of the league.
Not sure I like a move to Liverpool…maybe they make it to Champions league next year but that is big maybe. There is no way they will contend for the EPL title…but having said this it is still a better chance then Fulham.
Maybe if he does well he would get more endorsement deals? Isn’t Liverpool doing some sort or reality show/documentary, “Never Walk Alone”. Maybe Dempsey will get more exposure and make it evident that American’s can play this game!!!”
In the end it is too bad that he won’t get his wish to play for a Champions league team.
only has 12 months remaining on his contract, so he can buy his copntract out (bosman)
He did also say at one time that he hoped not to leave England.
I thought that within the BPL there are also requirements on number of English players–so they would get a premium, beyond marketability (and actual ability).
Wenger signed Mikel Arteta last year when he was 29. I’m not saying he’ll sign Dempsey, but I think it’s more about money than age.