English Premier League club Fulham FC have reached a deal with MLS to acquire New England Revolution midfielder Clint Dempsey, according to multiple media outlets.
New England officials said that an agreement has been reached between Fulham and the league and the New York Times reported that the deal is worth $4 million.
The transfer fee is a record for an MLS player. The deal is pending approval of Dempsey's work permit, which is likely to be settled on appeal.
Dempsey is unlikely to receive his work permit automatically because he appeared in only nine of the U.S. national team's 13 matches in 2006. A player must appear in 75 percent of his national team's recent matches to automatically earn a work permit. Dempsey falls just short of that threshold.
"I saw him about two years ago and then saw him playing at the World Cup for the U.S. Then I went out to watched him playing a few times in the States for New England and have always liked him," Fulham manager Chris Coleman was quoted as saying on ESPN.com. "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."
Dempsey, who would be joining former MLS stars Brian McBride and Carlos Bocanegra with Fulham, was named the U.S. Soccer player of the year in 2006. He tied with his club teammate Taylor Twellman for the squad lead in goals with four, and was the only U.S. player to score a goal at the FIFA World Cup in June, striking in his country's final group game against Ghana.
All told, Dempsey has scored six goals for the United States in 23 appearances. In three seasons with the Revolution, he scored 25 goals and notched 14 assists. Selected with the eighth pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft, Dempsey won the Gatorade Rookie of the Year award that season after striking for seven goals.
The previous high transfer fee paid for an MLS player was the $3.5 million Nottingham Forest paid for the Columbus Crew's Stern John in 1999.
Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
