proposed £6m move to Tottenham Hotspur after a
row over the centre-forward’s loan-back
arrangement.
The west London club have insisted all along that
Dembélé cannot and will not be allowed to play
elsewhere for the remainder of the season given
their precarious position just above the
Championship relegation places and the imperative
to keep hold of one of their few goal threats.
Their position has been thrown into sharper focus
by the club being under a Football League transfer
embargo.
Fulham negotiated a deal with Tottenham that
would allow the 19-year-old to sign off on the deal
now but return to Craven Cottage until the end of
May. Dembélé’s Fulham contract expires at the end
of the season and even though he would then be
permitted to move as a free agent, they would still
receive a fee for him at tribunal if he were to join
an English club.
Dembélé underwent a medical at Tottenham on
Saturday and the transaction looked set to be
confirmed. But Tottenham have continued to push
for the player to be allowed to join them straight
away to the point where it became a deal-breaker.
There is understood to be precious little chance of
the deal being revived before the window shuts on
Monday night.
Amid acrimony and accusations of agreements
being reneged upon, Dembélé has been left
disappointed and Tottenham will have to look
elsewhere for the cover up front for Harry Kane
that they need immediately. They could make a
move for West Bromwich Albion’s Saido Berahino,
the striker that they unsuccessfully tried to sign last
summer.
Fulham are also set to tie their other main forward,
Ross McCormack, to a lucrative, new long-term
contract. The club rejected a £9m offer for
McCormack from Middlesbrough and then turned
down a transfer request he submitted. But he has
been appeased by their offer of increased terms
and he is expected to sign on Monday.
Another transfer which has seemingly fallen
through is Jordan Rhodes’s move from Blackburn
Rovers to Middlesbrough. Rhodes was quoted as
being “baffled and disappointed” by
Middlesbrough’s decision to withdraw from the
deal. The forward said he passed a medical and
agreed personal terms on a switch to the Riverside
Stadium on Saturday, but was informed on Sunday
morning that Middlesbrough had cancelled the
move. However, Middlesbrough have claimed the
deal broke down because they were unable to
agree terms with Rhodes.
“The club can confirm that we have held talks with
Blackburn Rovers striker Jordan Rhodes over the
weekend but have failed to agree terms,” a
statement from the club’s official website read. On
Friday Middlesbrough released a statement
confirming they had agreed a fee with Blackburn
for Rhodes, who is contracted at Ewood Park until
July 2019. The transfer fee was reportedly worth
£11m – £9m up front and £2m in add-ons. But
Rhodes now looks set to see out the 2015-16
campaign with Blackburn. Rhodes has scored 85
goals in 169 matches for Blackburn since leaving
Huddersfield, where he netted 87 times in 148
games, in a deal worth up to £8m in August 2012.
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