Summer EPL Transfers: The Top 3 Clubs for Clint Dempsey

Clint Dempsey is coming off of the best season of his Fulham career, finishing fourth in the Barclays Premier League in scoring and becoming Fulham's all-time leading EPL scorer with 50 goals to his name. 

Fulham were able to utilize him by making him the central striker and building their attack around him, which paid huge dividends. There has been speculation as to where he might end up at the end of the transfer window, with several clubs showing interest.

Another layer was added to this speculation when he told Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl that he wanted to play for a Champions League club. After doing some research and speculation of my own, I've made a list of the three teams that I think would be the best fits for the Texan.

The Reds' boss Brendan Rodgers has already expressed his interest in the American striker, and Fulham seem to be ready to sell him for a good price (7.5 million pounds), so he could very likely end up here.

He would bring much-needed versatility to Liverpool after the departures of several key attacking players—Maxi Rodriguez, Dirk Kuyt and soon Andy Carroll. He can play as a attacking midfielder, winger or striker, but he seems to do best when he's closest to goal.

Although Liverpool aren't in the Champions League, they have a fairly strong squad and large budget. One of the original Top Four sides could very well qualify in this upcoming season, and Clint Dempsey may be in Merseyside when that happens.

Clint Dempsey would only have to move across town to join the Gunners. They have qualified for the UEFA Champions League, and with the departure of Robin van Persie imminent, Arsene Wenger will be under a lot of pressure from Arsenal supporters to sign several high-quality players.

Dempsey would slide in to Arsenal well as an attacking midfielder to supplement a big center forward like Nicklas Bendtner or van Persie for the time being. The only issue would be a possible lack of playing time in a squad packed with speedy, creative midfielders and wingers.

In the end, I think this move would suit both Arsenal and Dempsey as long as he continues his top form.

After Malaga was taken over by a Qatari businessman in 2010, the Andalusian club became one of the richest in the world. The newfound money paid its first dividends last year when the club finished fourth in La Liga and gained a place in the UEFA Champions League.

The manager pictured above, Manuel Pelligrini, has stated that he wants to sign around five world-class players for the Champions League campaign. Dempsey would fit in well as a relative bargain (10 million euros or less for the fourth-best scorer in the best league in the world) and also be able to play against some of the best players in the world weekly.  

The one worry for me about Clint leaving Fulham is that he could go from a superstar that a West London club built their team around to a second-team player. With the big European clubs, that's always a possibility.