Martin Jol admitted that Fulham did not want to sell Clint Dempsey this summer.
The USA international departed Craven Cottage on deadline, joining London rivals Tottenham for £6million, after it appeared that he was set for Liverpool.
Jol played down speculation that Dempsey refused to play for Fulham while he was waiting to sort out his future but did admit that the attacking midfielder did want to leave with the club forced to make a decision that did not necessarily suit them.
"We were really disappointed," said Jol ahead of tomorrow's home clash with West Bromwich Albion.
"It always looked like he was going to Liverpool, everything was almost wasted, because five or six weeks ago, we thought he would join them, then Spurs came in on the last day.
"We had to make a decision, it was not probably what we wanted, but the club decided to let him go.
"Clint did not literally say "I will not play". Everyone knows we wanted to keep him, but there was one player who wanted to leave.
"If you have a bit of imagination, you know he did not want to play here."
