Tottenham outbid Liverpool for Fulham attacker Clint Dempsey last night in amazing deadline day swoop.

The Sun says the American, who snubbed a move to Aston Villa yesterday morning, had his heart set on going to Anfield.

But the Reds offered only £3m for the attacking midfielder, who scored 23 goals in all competitions last season.

So Dempsey, 29, signed a three-year deal after arriving at Tottenham's Essex training base at 9.30pm last night.

He will link up with his former Fulham team-mate Mousa Dembele, who joined Spurs in a £15m switch earlier this week.