Fulham re-signed Clint Dempsey

Fulham have re-signed midfielder Clint Dempsey on a two-month loan deal from MLS side Seattle Sounders.

The Sounders have kept busy during the MLS off season, and so will Clint Dempsey.

In an expected move, the superstar forward/midfielder was loaned to Fulham FC of the English Premier League on Tuesday. The loan will last two months, so Dempsey is expected back for Seattle’s season opener March 8 against reigning MLS champion Sporting Kansas City.

Dempsey, who played for Fulham from 2007 to 2012, will be eligible when the transfer window opens Jan. 1. The 30-year-old could play as many as eight league games for the Cottagers, who are next to last in the standings and could use a boost from their former two-time team MVP to avoid relegation into the second division.

Clint Dempsey  ©Technique Before Tactics

The 30-year-old United States international spent five-and-a-half seasons at Craven Cottage before leaving them to join Tottenham on a three-year contract in August 2012.

“It feels good to be back,” Dempsey said in an interview on FulhamFC.com. “This has always kind of felt like my home in Europe.”

Dempsey, who is captain of the U.S. men’s national team, has a clause in his contract with the Sounders that allows a one-time off season loan, and it was designed for this year, ahead of next summer’s World Cup in Brazil. Fulham confirmed Dempsey took a physical with the team Friday.

Seattle general manager Adrian Hanauer had said throughout the off season that a loan was likely.

Dempsey, who has 60 goals in 225 games with Fulham, said he had several motivations when it came to pursuing an off season loan, something U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann had encouraged MLS players in the U.S. pool to do.

“I just wanted to get back to playing at the highest level, get back to playing in top form, getting back and helping the team in a situation where they’re not where they want to be in the table,” Dempsey told Fulham’s website. “Going into a World Cup year, you want to get to that top form and carry that forward so hopefully you can have a good showing.”

He didn’t discover that top form with the Sounders. Despite individual moments of brilliance, Dempsey finished with just one goal in nine regular-season games. The loan to Fulham could get the designated player in rhythm ahead of the MLS season, but it also comes with concerns.

Outside of the constant worry of injury, Dempsey will miss essentially all of the Sounders’ preseason, meaning the team won’t have all of its players together to develop chemistry after an off season roster overhaul.

However he spent only one season at White Hart Lane before heading back to the USA when he signed a four-year deal with the Sounders on August 3.

Dempsey initially joined the Cottagers from New England Revolution in January 2007 and was twice voted the club's player of the season.

Dempsey's return has been mooted for several days and Fulham boss Rene Meulensteen said last week: "Clint has spent so many years playing in the Premier League.

"We know where his strengths lie whether it is coming in from the left or playing as a deeper striker or a number nine depending on who you are playing against. The most important thing is that he will be a good boost for us."

Dempsey has played 12 MLS games for Seattle so far and finished with only one goal and one assist in his first campaign with them.

But he is hoping to use his spell with Fulham during the MLS off-season to rediscover his best form ahead of the World Cup in Brazil next summer.

He told Fulham's official website: "It feels good to be back. This (Fulham) has always seemed like my home in Europe and I am excited to be back and be part of this team and play in this league.

"I wanted to get back to playing at the highest level and getting back and helping the team in the situation where they are not where they want to be in the table.

"But going into a World Cup year you want to get into that top form and carry that forward so hopefully I can have a good showing."