Fulham's Clint Dempsey and Jordan Henderson of Liverpool had been set to change space in the summer transfer window 2012, where FSG even went so far that a deal was closed by accident
Fenway Sports Group (FSG) accidentally told Liverpool fans that they had signed Clint Dempsey in 2012, only for the star to sign for Tottenham instead. The Reds had finished in the Premier League classification under Kenny Dalglish just like eighth, assured a number two in the FA Cup and took the League Cup when the summer transfer window offered an incredible opportunity to build for the new term.
Brendan Rodgers was appointed as the successor to Dalglish at the beginning of June, and did not waste any time in assessing his options for 2012/13, looking for cropping the team and bringing in established names to ensure that Liverpool did better in the new campaign.
A star who particularly caught the attention of Rodgers was Dempsey – a versatile attacker and attacking midfielder who had managed 60 goals and 20 assists with Fulham between 2007 and 2012. Underestig in Craven Cottage, Dempsey had submitted a transfer application, and Rodgers thought it fits perfectly with his Liverpool side in the future.
As a result, FSG worked to get a deal for Dempsey about the line, in which Rodgers even proposed a straight exchange between the American and Liverpool Club captain, Jordan Henderson. The problem with that, however, was that Henderson refused to entertain a move to West London.
Things turned the worst when FSG released a statement that suggested that Dempsey was signed by the Reds. Henderson remained in Anfield and Dempsey eventually signed for Spurs. Dempsey is now throwing light on the Kerfuffle in conversation with men in blazers and has now revealed that a movement was closer than some might admit.
He explained: “I was pretty close when I am honest with you. It was a situation in which it would become a profession for me and Jordan Henderson, and whether or not he wanted to come to Fulham or not.
“It would not be a situation in which they wanted to spend a lot of money. I think they played a bit of money ball.
“I think they had already spent a lot of money on Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll, so they wanted to try to find a way for someone who was a little older – maybe it was logical to be more of a profession.”
The now 42-year-old added: “I think I would fit their style or more, so, the style of Brendan Rodgers because I was an inverted wing player, right? I played left, I would enter my right foot, a bit like what I did at Fulham.
“But Jordan Henderson did not want to make that change, and it eventually became the best move for him. He eventually won a Champions League and a Premier League. But it was pretty close to the event, it was just not meant.”
Elsewhere, Henderson also gave his side of the story and assigned that he was sent to “a very dark place” after he had seen his future in Liverpool. Speaking with The Guardian, the 35-year-old said: “That was a difficult moment that I remember very clearly.
“We were preparing for a (Europa League qualification) match against Harten in Anfield. We met like normal in the hotel and I got a knock on my door and said the manager wanted to talk to us. To be honest to Brendan Rodgers, it was actually just a conversation.
“It was an opportunity (to leave for Fulham) that I didn't want and I didn't like it. I still felt that I had a lot to give. But at that moment I was in a very dark place. It made us a lot stronger and much wiser later and without that you never know what could have happened.
“So I really cherish them moments because you need setbacks, you need adversity. You get up again and it makes you stronger because you want to prove people it is wrong. Since that day I had something in me.
“I had to prove to the manager that I would eventually get to his team. I would definitely do everything to be in his team, this football club, and I would prove that they are wrong. In the end I did that.”
Henderson stayed in Anfield until 2023 and won a Premier League and Champions League title before his large move to Al-Eittifaq. The star born in Sunderland, however, only lasted one season in Saudi Aarabia before he was moving again – this time to Ajax.
Meanwhile, Dempsey went on to Spurs in a £ 6 million movement – but his term of office at White Hart Lane did not last long. The following year, Dempsey signed at Seattle Sounders on a four -year contract, where he saw the rest of his career, retired in 2018.