Fulham have agreed a fee of £1.5m with New England Revolution for American international midfielder Clint Dempsey – but Chris Coleman remains concerned that a work permit tribunal could collapse the deal.
Dempsey, 23, has not featured in enough of the USA’s recent international fixtures to automatically secure a work permit. “We’ve agreed a fee but it still has to go to the tribunal,” the Fulham manager said. We’ve been there before and not won all of them, so we’ve got to keep our fingers crossed.”
“Clint’s a wide player up front, can play either flank, strong with pace, a good player, good touch. I saw him about two years ago and then saw him playing at the World Cup for the US. 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, is the right age and was in our price range. He’s had a few injury problems so he’s just a little bit short there. But 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.”
