Six months after losing both Clint Dempsey and Mousa Dembele to Tottenham, Fulham coach Martin Jol is still mourning their loss. If both of his star players had remained at Fulham this season, the Dutchman has no doubt the Cottagers could have competed for the top 10 in the Premier League. Instead, the London club is simply trying to stay in the league.

Ahead of Fulham’s clash at Norwich this weekend, Jol said that Dempsey’s goals are what his team misses the most. "Clint Dempsey always made the difference," he said. "I feel if Clint Dempsey hadn't been here over the last three or four years, we could've ended up with a real problem. If you look at the points Fulham had because of him... Can you imagine the scenario if Clint hadn't been here over the last three or four years?

"Our strikers never used to score a lot of goals. Now I think we're fine, but we don't have Clint. If Clint had stayed I think we would've been in the top 10.” He added: “We sold our top scorer and he (Dempsey) was the top scorer for a couple of years. Last year he scored more goals than any year before - and Dembele was my best player, arguably.”

Dempsey scored 17 goals in the English Premier League last season and 23 in all competitions.