When Liverpool open their Premier League season away at newly-promoted Fulham on Saturday, three members of Jurgen Klopp’s squad could be forgiven for pondering what might have been.
In Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho, the Reds boast two graduates of the Cottagers’ youth academy who they snapped up at the end of their contracts. The former had become the Premier League’s youngest ever player before moving to Anfield after just three appearances in the capital when still only 16 back in the summer of 2019.
Meanwhile, after scoring on his full Premier League debut for Fulham before firing in 10 goals to help them secure promotion back to the top-flight as Championship winners last year, the Portugal Under-21s international is facing a swift return to his former stomping ground.
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Had they resisted the lure of Anfield, they’d likely be starting for Fulham against Liverpool on Saturday. Instead, they’re playing the long game under Klopp as exciting young squad players, hungry for minutes as the pair look to make their mark on the Premier League.
While both Elliott and Carvalho have trod the path from Craven Cottage to Anfield in recent years, they both left Fulham in very different circumstances with the two clubs previously not having the best relationship behind the scenes.
And the breakdown of such relations dates back to the summer of 2012 when Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was very nearly sold to Fulham after only a year on Merseyside. Then only 22, the midfielder had endured a difficult first season with Reds following his £20m move from Sunderland.
While he’d win the League Cup and make 48 appearances in all competitions, missing just one Premier League match, his performances were criticised and after manager Kenny Dalglish was sacked, replacement Brendan Rodgers was willing to sanction a departure.
The Northern Irishman believed Henderson would be better off with departing for more game time at Craven Cottage, given the midfielder was not in his best starting XI. Yet after initial tears, the England international decided to stay put, fight for his place and win his manager over.
Come the end of 2012/13, he was first-choice against at Anfield. The year after he nearly won the Premier League before being named Reds vice-captain in 2014 and then captain following Steven Gerrard’s departure in 2015. And following Klopp’s arrival later that year, he has led his side to every major honour going.
But you already know that. Henderson’s story and what he’s achieved at Liverpool in the 10 years since nearly being sold to Fulham is well-known. What’s perhaps a little overlooked is that he was meant to depart in exchange for Clint Dempsey, with the Reds’ interest in the American fracturing their relationship with the Cottagers in the process.
Liverpool’s interest in Dempsey, who scored an impressive 23 goals in his final season at Fulham, actually pre-dated Rodgers’ appointment, with Chairman Tom Werner hinting his compatriot was on the Reds’ radar in May 2012. "We never talk publicly about our transfer targets,” he told Goal at the time. “However, any team would be lucky to have Clint Dempsey playing on their squad."
Dempsey's agent, Lyle Yorks, refused to directly address Werner's comments, though he acknowledged that he had attended Fulham's 1-0 away victory against Liverpool. Meanwhile, Cottagers manager Martin Jol would play down reports of the Reds’ interest, still hoping the American, whose deal was set to expire in 2013, would sign a new contract at Craven Cottage.
“We talked to him and hopefully he will sign a contract to keep him here for the next three years," the Dutchman said. "If not, he's still our player because there is no club that has made an approach for him. Of course it's nice if they are positive about him.
"I'm very positive about a few Liverpool players, because I like them a lot, but it doesn't mean we can afford to buy them. If a manager does that it's different, because it's a tap-up, but if it's an owner, he probably doesn't know about the rules and agreements. I'm not bothered about it."
Yet so convinced was Dempsey - regarded as a human dynamo for his capacity to play in every game for club and country - that he was joining Liverpool, that there was a seismic shift in his attitude towards Fulham. He’d return to pre-season four days later, with the Cottagers reluctantly accepting the breach of contract partly because they assumed a formal bid for the player from the Reds was imminent.
However, no bid was forthcoming. But that didn’t stop Liverpool from being involved in a number of faux pas over the summer concerning their pursuit of Dempsey.
Firstly in a video piece on NESN.com, a website 80% owned by Reds owners FSG, about Liverpool’s upcoming pre-season games at Fenway Park, the accompanying copy claimed that the club had "added Clint Dempsey to a team that came within a game of winning the FA Cup.” The video was taken down and changed a few hours later.
"We have received no offers from any club for Clint Dempsey," a club spokesman from Fulham would say in response. "We would discourage any club from making a bid for him."
The same day, in a failed attempt to smooth things over, Rodgers publicly confirmed that the Reds had enquired after Dempsey.
"Clint's a player that we have inquired about," the Liverpool boss said. "It's as simple as that. Ian Ayre, our managing director has spoken with the club [Fulham] to see what the position is. And that's where it's at.
“So there's been nothing more than that. He's obviously a very talented player but we don't like to speak on other club's players. But that's as far as those went really. There's nothing else more."
Such comments did not go down well at Fulham, while the Cottagers were further enraged when pictures of Liverpool's new strip with Dempsey's name on the back were published.
Later on in the summer, Dempsey pulled out of Fulham's pre-season training camp in Switzerland at the end of July and was reportedly involved in a heated debate with Jol as the pair squared up at the training ground. The American was left to train with the youth team, having made it clear to his manager and senior club figures that he wanted to quit Craven Cottage for Liverpool and would do whatever was necessary to force a move.
In turn, the Dutchman said the attacking midfielder would not be sold unless Fulham’s valuation was met, while Dempsey would be fined for refusing to play once the Premier League season got underway. Wary that his unhappiness would spread to impressionable youngsters who looked up to him, the player was then ordered to train on his own away from both the senior and development squads to a local sports ground, having been banned from attending their training ground.
Such a stance prompted Jol to publicly slam the Reds, labelling their conduct ‘embarrassing’ and accusing them of tapping up the American.
"Clint was not involved over the last four weeks so he is not going to be in the squad,” Jol said. “He is not committed to the club. He wants to leave. I would like to keep him, but I think it's impossible. It's a sad and an almost embarrassing situation. That was very disappointing. There was never an offer. Clint himself told everyone he was going to Liverpool so we really thought there was quite a firm interest in him.
"Even (Rodgers) told everyone he was interested in Clint Dempsey, but our people never had an offer on the table, so it's almost embarrassing. If you have shown interest in a player, especially in England, you have to follow it up with an offer. They didn't. Maybe Liverpool will come back. I can assure you that our chairman is strong enough. At first we didn't want to get rid of him, later on we had to change our position. But our view is that we won't let Clint Dempsey go on the cheap, that's for sure."
He continued: “He’s not committed and he doesn’t want to play so it’s an embarrassing situation, but we have to cope with it. If there is one club interested in Clint Dempsey then they should give us a firm offer but they never did. That is the difference with Modric.
“There was an offer on the table and they negotiated so he was excluded from the squad, but Dempsey is totally different – there is no firm offer on the table. He didn’t want to commit to this club, he wanted to leave because he really thought that Liverpool came in for him. But they didn’t, so we’ve got the problem now and we’re still waiting.
“I would like to keep him but he wants to move to a Champions League club. I’m not sure if Liverpool is in the Champions League, but if you look at the size of Liverpool, it’s like a Champions League club. It’s a sad situation and embarrassing. We’ve got a chairman who’s quite strong and if we get the right price, we will sell him. If not, he’ll stay here.”
"There are two sides to the story," Dempsey responded on Twitter after Jol's comments. "The truth will come out soon."
Jol hit out at Dempsey again the following week, before, with still no bid from Liverpool, Fulham, aware there was now no way back for the player, lodged an official complaint with the Premier League a regarding the Reds’ conduct a week before the transfer window closed, with an investigation being launched and the club facing a potential hefty fine or even a points deduction if found guilty of tapping up.
Fulham owner Mohamed Al-Fayed was generally a ‘hands-off’ owner and chairman, and left the day-to-day running of Fulham to chief executive Alistair Mackintosh. But he took Dempsey’s conduct personally and felt that he was treating the club with disdain, vowing that the American would not be granted a simple passage out of the club.
“Mentally, he wants to move,” Jol said the day before Fulham’s complaint. “He doesn’t want to play here. I said before, his head was turned. It would have been better if Liverpool would have followed it up with a formal bid, but they didn’t, so as until now there is no bid on table.
“It’s a problem and a situation you don’t want. It’s not something you can talk to a player about every day because he doesn’t want to. It started during our pre-season tour to Germany. I was probably a bit naive, asking, ‘Clint, do you want to start?’ All he said was, ‘You know what I want.’”
This time Rodgers was rather more coy when asked about interest in Dempsey as club sources distanced the Reds from making a move. “For me there is nothing to say on it,” said the Northern Irishman. “This was something I was aware of a number of weeks ago. That has been dealt with in-house.”
Yet during the final week of the window, Liverpool did belatedly make their move for Dempsey, having been tracking him for 12 months. With space on the wage bill freed up by Andy Carroll’s loan to West Ham, a bid worth an initial £3m was rejected while talks were held regarding a potential swap deal involving Henderson, with the likes of Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing and Jose Enrique also offered to the Cottagers.
Fulham were interested in the now Reds captain, but his rejection of the move put paid to that. And while they had valued Dempsey at £9m, a combination of the 29-year-old’s age and expiring contract status, having rejected their latest offer, meant that they would settle for £5m. Liverpool were not willing to offer more than £4m.
With late interest emerging from Aston Villa, the Villans had a £7m bid, worth £5m upfront and £2m in add-ons accepted on deadline day. Holding out for Liverpool, Dempsey rejected the move.
As the clock ticked down, Fulham refused to budge on their valuation, and were willing to charge the Reds a premium. There was even talk of an autumn loan to a Championship club, with Goal quoting one club insider as saying: “The chairman wanted to teach him a lesson”.
At the 11th hour, Tottenham Hotspur came to Dempsey’s rescue and matched Villa’s bid. With Liverpool unwilling or unable to offer more than £4m, they missed out on the American as a result as he completed a late swoop to White Hart Lane.
It was suggested Nuri Sahin’s wages following his loan move from Real Madrid meant the Reds couldn’t offer more, despite Rodgers removing approximately £8m from Liverpool's wage bill in the final 24 hours of the transfer window and raising a further £4m from the sale of Adam to Stoke City plus loan fees.
Also missing out on signing Daniel Sturridge on loan from Chelsea, with the striker only interested in a permanent exit, the failure to land Dempsey left the Reds with only Luis Suarez and Fabio Borini as their attacking options for the first half of the 2012/13 season. In response, owner John W. Henry would publish an open letter to supporters defending the club’s transfer activity.
Once the dust settled after the transfer window closed, Fulham pressed ahead with a complaint to the Premier League regarding Liverpool's pursuit of Dempsey. Come November and the investigation was still ongoing, with key figures from both clubs being asked to provide information as interviews were held to determine whether there was a case to answer.
However, the Cottagers withdrew their complaint the following month after receiving a grovelling apology from Liverpool. The peace deal came only after a personal visit by Liverpool co-owner Tom Werner to Mohamed Al Fayed was followed up by a letter from Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre admitting that the club’s behaviour ‘was wrong’ and ‘simply never should have occurred’.
"Fulham can confirm that it has today withdrawn the complaint made against Liverpool FC in regard to the Merseyside club's inappropriate actions surrounding interest in Clint Dempsey over the summer,” they said in an official club statement.
"Liverpool's chairman Tom Werner apologised personally to Mohamed Al Fayed, stating that his club were wholly responsible for unprofessional behaviour toward Fulham and emphasised his regret for the entire episode.
"In a letter from Liverpool to Fulham's CEO Alistair Mackintosh, Tom Werner's praise of the magnanimous gesture from the chairman was reiterated, as was the club's assurance that the conduct of Liverpool was simply not acceptable.
"The chairman decided that this sincere action was enough, and as a gesture of goodwill, instructed that all complaints against them be dropped."
Ayre wrote: "It is indicative of the leadership of your chairman over the years in football matters and his ability to place the best interests of the game ahead of an intramural dispute between clubs. Please also consider this letter from me to be an additional expression of sincere regret and apology from our club to your club for our actions last summer. Our club can do better and we pledge that it will.”
Rodgers would later insist Liverpool would learn from the episode. He said: ”That’s something the club have been dealing with and there’s ongoing communication there, so there’s nothing for me to add to it from a managerial perspective.
“Clint’s a Tottenham player and I’m sure they’re very glad to have got him but we’ve moved on. As a football club, we’ve learned from the experience, we’ve all moved on, and we’re looking forward to continuing our good form. And when January comes, whatever experiences we’ve had then, we’ll be better for them.”
However, while Liverpool were forgiven by Fulham, the episode was not forgotten and the two parties were at loggerheads again when the Reds moved for Harvey Elliott in 2019. When the midfielder decided to leave the Cottagers for Anfield, he had yet to sign a professional deal, instead taking the opportunity to take up a scholarship with the Reds before penning his first pro contract when he turned 17.
Fulham were entitled to training compensation for the teenager, but the Reds’ initial offer of £850k plus add-ons was deemed 'insulting' by the Cottagers. The Londoners had instead wanted £10m for Elliott, with a further £10m in add-ons.
Unable to agree on a compensation amount, the case went to tribunal with relations strained once again as a result. The Professional Football Compensation Committee ordered Liverpool, in February 2021, to pay an initial £1.2m along with £300k for Elliott, having signed his first professional contract last year, with another £200k due when he pens a second professional contract.
Further payments are based on cumulative first-team appearances and an appearance for the England senior side, with the maximum Fulham will receive £4.3m, which would be triggered by Elliott making 100 first-team appearances for the Reds while also earning an England cap. The Cottagers will also receive 20% of the fee from any future sale of the teenager.
Fulham were confirmed to be pleased with the fee, which was a record for a 16-year-old, even though it was considerably less than their demands. Yet then Cottagers boss Scott Parker publicly hit out at the figure, calling it madness.
"I was disappointed in it all because this is a player that had been developed at this club for a long, long time,” he said. "We gave him his debut. You don’t want to go and spend £20-30m on players. That’s why the Academy is so important for us.
"We want to develop these players. But we have developed that player for a big club to take him. Four million quid for a player we developed and thought the world of, to then leave like he did, is madness really. Elliott has the potential to be a top-class football player, but Liverpool have taken him off us for minimal numbers for what he’s capable of."
Relations between the two clubs were soothed further when the Reds sold Harry Wilson to Fulham in a £12m deal last year. However, it later emerged that the Wales international was technically at Craven Cottage on loan, with the permanent transfer delayed until 2022 in order to get around Championship FFP regulations.
Liverpool then decided to send Neco Williams on loan to Fulham in January 2022, with loans and pathway director David Woodfine and sporting director Julian Ward investing a lot personally to get the deal over the line on transfer deadline day.
With the switch sanctioned to maximise the defender’s playing time at an appropriate club in a World Cup year, the deal was a straight loan as the Cottagers only covered the Wales international’s wages. And Reds bosses were delighted by the success of the defender’s loan, as he helped Fulham win promotion, with club sources crediting the Londoners as ‘magnificent’ and a ‘terrific destination for loan players’.
And while the Cottagers wouldn’t end up signing Williams permanently, the Reds would have no qualms about loaning them players in future, given their admiration for the club.
Of course, negotiations with Fulham for Williams took place at the same time as Liverpool tried to complete a deadline day swoop of their own for Fabio Carvalho, only to run out of time despite agreeing a deal with the Cottagers, and having been happy to loan the teenager back to for the remainder of the season to continue his progress under Marco Silva.
Relations between the clubs had become strained when negotiating for Elliott, but improved due to the impact Wilson made since moving to Craven Cottage. So with both parties keen to avoid a repeat of that saga and another tribunal, the Reds negotiated a £5m compensation fee with Fulham for the out-of-contract 19-year-old, with the deal also including add-ons that could bump the final cost up by a further £2.7m along with a 20% sell-on clause.
Carvalho - with permission from Fulham - had already visited Liverpool's AXA Training Centre in Kirkby, where he met with Reds boss Klopp and the coaching staff, underwent a medical and agreed personal terms on a five-year contract prior to confirmation of the deal in May. Meanwhile, the player had not wanted the transfer made public until the end of the season out of respect for his Fulham team-mates as they successfully chased promotion back to the Premier League as champions.
Having brought in both Elliott and Carvalho, and having previously been interested in Ryan Sessegnon, Liverpool know all about the strength of Fulham’s youth academy. As the pair get set to return to their former club on Saturday, hoping for a warm welcome, the Cottagers will no doubt be watching their progress with great interest from afar, and not just because they will benefit if they both succeed at Anfield.
Now 10 years on from the Dempsey transfer saga and the low point in the Reds’ relationship with Fulham, relations are seemingly mended between the two clubs. Boasting a great respect for each other as Liverpool prepare to welcome the Cottagers back to the Premier League, club bosses will no doubt be eager to keep it that way.
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