Fulham hope to use Liverpool's interest in Clint Dempsey to drive an audacious swap deal for Andy Carroll, which would feature a cash adjustment, as they also completed the free transfer of Hugo Rodallega from Wigan Athletic.

Dempsey, who scored 23 goals in all competitions last season, has 12 months to run on his Fulham contract and he is keen to move to a bigger club. Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager, appears prepared to let Carroll go and the striker has also attracted the interest of West Ham United and Newcastle United, his former club.

Fulham would have to give Liverpool around £9m on top of Dempsey, but the deal for Rodallega, who has signed a three-year contract, has strengthened their options following the departures of Andy Johnson and Pavel Pogrebnyak.