Clint Dempsey has refused to travel with the rest of the Fulham squad on their pre-season tour of Switzerland as he attempts to push through a transfer to Liverpool.

Goal.com has reported that Dempsey had a heated discussion with manager Martin Jol on the training ground, with the Dutchman eventually deciding to allow the midfielder to remain in London and to train with the youth team.

The rest of the Fulham squad will spend a week away from the UK as they first travel to Switzerland, before playing a friendly against Nice on Saturday and returning to London the following week.

Clint Dempsey
Clint Dempsey is hoping to push through a transfer to Liverpool [Reuters] Reuters

There is a growing belief that Dempsey is ready to leave Craven Cottage this summer as he looks to join a club that can have a serious push for a top four finish and challenge for Champions League football.

Dempsey was the top scoring midfielder in the Premier League last season with 17 goals to his name and has thus far rejected any offers for a new deal from the west London club.

The 29-year-old is now in the final 12 months of his contract and is seemingly taking a similar stance to both Luka Modric and Robin van Persie who also refused to travel with their clubs in the hope of securing a move.

In his five-and-a-half years with Fulham he has scored an impressive 60 goals and has emerged as a genuine target for Liverpool, with boss Brendan Rodgers admitting he had enquired about the midfielder.

The report on goal.com goes on to suggest that Fulham are demanding as much as £9million for Dempsey, while Liverpool are only prepared to pay around £5m as they are aware he is in the final 12 months of his contract and could leave for free next summer.

Liverpool certainly struggled to find goals from midfield last season, with Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson and Dirk Kuyt combining to provide less than 10 league goals.

The Reds have strengthened in attack after completing a deal for Fabio Borini, but it does seem as though Rodgers is keen to bolster his midfield after being strongly linked with Swansea's Joe Allen.

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