Fleetwood Town ace Kyle Dempsey Championship departure rumours are rejected

Newly relegated West Bromwich Albion, Bristol City and newly promoted Wigan Athletic have been linked with a move for the midfielder but the Gazette understands that Town have not received any offers.

If bids were to come in, Fleetwood are in a strong position with Dempsey under contract until 2020.

Having joined on loan from Huddersfield Town, the midfielder was a key figure in the 2016/17 Fleetwood side that challenged for automatic promotion from League One under Uwe Rosler.

That form saw Town chairman Andy Pilley pay out an undisclosed six-figure sum to secure his services on a permanent basis in the summer of 2017.

Dempsey built on that 46-game, two-goal term by playing 52 games last season, albeit in different circumstances as Fleetwood just avoided relegation from League One.

John Sheridan, who took over from Rosler in February this year and steered Town to safety, challenged Dempsey to start finding the net more often.

He scored 11 times for Carlisle in his breakthrough 2014/15 season, a tally that helped clinch his move to Huddersfield.

Sheridan, who was a regular scorer from midfield during his career, recognised that Dempsey had the attributes to pose a threat to opposing defences.

Speaking after Dempsey scored his only goal of the 2017/18 season in the 2-0 win over Northampton Town in March Sheridan said: “Kyle should be scoring seven, eight goals a season with what he has got in his game.

“I’ve given him that licence to get forward a little bit more and I’m very pleased his performance merited a goal.

“I thought he was excellent; it is a good finish and it just gives you that breathing space.”