Former Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey has spoken of his relief at moving to Tottenham but said he is "disappointed" over his treatment at Fulham.
The American striker had been expected to move to Liverpool on the final day of the transfer window, only for Spurs to seal a £6m deal.
"I'm very relieved and looking forward to getting back to playing," Dempsey said. "I think the team is a perfect fit. They qualified for a place last season for the Champions League but missed out on a technicality. But it's still in London. My family doesn't have to move far. My daughter, she can go to another international school and be on the same curriculum. It couldn't have worked out any better in that regard."
Dempsey led Fulham with 23 goals last season and has long spoken of his desire to play at the highest level - which, for him, means Champions League. Tottenham finished fourth in the Premier League but missed out on getting into the competition after Chelsea won the title and the last qualifying spot, the "technicality" Dempsey spoke of.
"I'm disappointed in the way I was portrayed in the end with Fulham," Dempsey said. "I always wanted to play at the highest level possible. That was never a secret. That's something I always said. It would be a dream of mine to play Champions League and you want to play on the best team possible to try to get there. That's definitely a team with a lot of quality in it but now it's all about the team that I'm with."
The saga started over the summer, when Dempsey - who was in the last year of his Fulham deal - was linked to Liverpool when Brendan Rodgers acknowledged inquiring about his availability. The Fulham manager, Martin Jol, said Dempsey had refused to play for the club, one of the salvos from both parties that led to Dempsey tweeting that there were two sides to the story.
Dempsey said he was simply relieved to look ahead. "There were some things that were said that weren't true. That's in the past. It's about looking towards the future. I'm looking forward to playing with Tottenham. It's a great team, a great club.
"I want to thank the fans of Fulham. It's been five great years. Some of my best memories in football have been there. I want to thank the chairman for taking a chance on me from MLS and I wish them well in the future."