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The Fulham attacking midfielder has rejected a new contract from the London club but will have to wait for his dream move while the England striker's future is resolved

EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey | Chief Correspondent

Liverpool are preparing a £5 million bid for Clint Dempsey as they step up plans to sell Andy Carroll on a permanent deal.

Goal.com understands that the American has rejected a new contract offer from Fulham and has told the Londoners that he wants to leave for a Champions League-calibre club.

Liverpool have pursued Dempsey for 12 months and have now stepped up their interest in a player whom Brendan Rodgers has privately made clear that he wants to bring to Merseyside.

Fulham value the USA international at £9m but a combination of his age – 29 – and his contract situation – he has just entered the final year of his current deal – mean that they will settle for a fee of around £5m.

KOP TARGET
DEMPSEY'S FULHAM RECORD
GAMES PLAYED GOALS ASSISTS	225 60 21

Sources have said that Liverpool have not yet made a formal offer for the attacking midfielder and are, indeed, not expected to sign him until Carroll’s future is resolved.

Newcastle have made an official bid to sign the England striker on a season-long loan, which was rejected on Sunday night by the Merseysiders.

Nevertheless, Rodgers has told Liverpool that he wants to offload the club’s record signing on a permanent deal and the club are willing to listen to any offers of around £15m.

West Ham United have made enquiries for Carroll but only have the funds to make a loan move in which the cost of his wages would be shared with Liverpool, while Fulham’s reported interest last week was believed to merely be a carefully-engineered mechanism to push through the Dempsey deal.

Aston Villa are interested in Carroll but the player’s most realistic avenue for a permanent move is a romantic return to boyhood club Newcastle.

It is believed that the Tyneside club regard Carroll as a back-up option in case they lose Demba Ba, whose future remains up in the air because of the £7m exit clause in his deal that runs until the end of the month.

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Liverpool, who signed Italy forward Fabio Borini last Friday, could have to bide their time before making an offer for Dempsey.

The attacking midfielder, who scored 17 Premier League goals last season and 23 in all competitions, has rejected Fulham’s offer of a new three year-contract that includes an option for a fourth year.

Dempsey, who moved to west London five-and-a-half years ago, believes that it could be the last opportunity he gets to play for one of the elite Premier League clubs.

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