Dempsey a more expensive commodity than we thought.

It looks like US national Clint Dempsey is set to be the biggest transfer in MLS history. At first we thought he would go across the Pond for about $3 million. Well, apparently we were $1 million short of the actual total. Provided Dempsey gets his work permit, MLS will get $4 million of owner Mohamed al-Fayed's money.

Now we're really talking about a win-win-win situation. Obviously we don't want (and neither does MLS) the league to become a place were we just build up players then sell them off for higher prices. We want our stars to stay and flourish and help build the game and league domestically into something grand. But when a player expresses a desire to play elsewhere, it's nice to be able to capitalize on that.

The only hurdle to this deal, as has been mentioned before, is that pesky work permit. And the English FA tribunal system has always been a model of consistency.