Yesterday Tottenham Hotspur broke its transfer record by paying £26 million to Valencia for Roberto Soldado. Soldado’s arrival does two things, one it sends a message that Tottenham is eager to qualify for Champions’ League with or without (but preferably with) Gareth Bale. Secondly, it most likely spells the end of Clint Dempsey’s time at Tottenham Hotspur.
“Deuce” as he is known to colleagues and fans alike, is now looking for the right place to play next year. Tottenham’s lineup is dripping with talent and with the addition of Soldado, as well as the addition of Brazilian star Paulinho would limit Dempsey to a much smaller role than he’d like.
Dempsey’s limited role with Spurs would put his spot on the US World Cup side in jeopardy, as Jurgen Klinsmann has made it clear he won’t feature any player not playing for their club side.
This week Dempsey was sighted leaving London and landing in San Francisco, causing a stir that Captain Clint was heading back to the States to meet with the Seattle Sounders. The Sounders have since refuted reports that they have had talks with Dempsey.
Now reports are flying around that Dempsey could be joining his US teammate Tim Howard at Everton FC. Everton played Wednesday night in San Francisco, defeating Juventus on penalty kicks.
The move makes sense on pretty much every level for club, country, and player.
Dempsey is a terrific footballer and he deserves to play in one of the best leagues in the world. While a move to Seattle, or any MLS team for that matter, would do wonders for the league and soccer here in America — at this juncture it is more important for Dempsey to continue to ply his trade against the best players in the world.
Everton would love to have Dempsey play crucial minutes for them as they try to qualify for Champions’ League football for the first time in almost a decade.
The Toffees have developed a talented, budget friendly side that always comes up just short of crashing the Top 4 party in the Premier League. They lack the financial backing that giants like Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Arsenal have, but they spend wisely and have one of the best youth systems in soccer.
With the World Cup looming and this US team looking poised to make a run at something special, it is paramount that Dempsey be at his best come June. At Everton Dempsey will have a featured role in their midfield, playing alongside two of the league’s best players in Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini.
Dempsey would probably fit in better at Everton than any club in the Premier League. Everton have a history of employing Americans. Joe Max-Moore, Preki, Landon Donovan, Brian McBride, and Howard have all played for the Blues. Donovan’s loan spells were huge successes and Howard remains one of the club’s most important players.
The idea of Dempsey coming back to MLS has people here in the states salivating, but now just isn’t the time. Klinsmann has the US team right where we need them to be. They are currently riding an 11-game winning streak and are going to qualify for Brazil in impressive fashion. If the captain of the US National Team is at his best for Brazil, it means that this team can make some legitimate noise at the World Cup.
In all likelihood Dempsey will come back to MLS. Let’s just hope he doesn’t come back just yet.
