Kyle Dempsey fee paid by Huddersfield Town topped £300,000 claim Carlisle United

Carlisle United chairman Andrew Jenkins insists Huddersfield Town paid more than the £300,000 quoted for midfielder Kyle Dempsey.

And he told Brunton Park fans that the League II club had no choice but to part with their star asset, who signed a three-year contract with Town, who have the option of a further 12 months.

Dempsey completed his transfer to Town last Friday and is currently with his new teammates on the club’s pre-season training camp in Spain.

Carlisle fans were already frustrated by the sale of the 19-year-old’s fellow midfielder Brad Potts to Blackpool in a deal reported as being worth more than £150,000.

Jenkins said Carlisle were “determined” to keep both players at the club but it had proved impossible.

And he suggested the club will receive more than the widely-reported £300,000 for Dempsey, who was also a target of Barnsley.

“Kyle attracted the attention of a number of clubs through the middle part of last season and we did, in fact, turn down offers on more than one occasion,” he said.

“We concentrated on putting together a new contract for him as we knew that his current deal was due to expire at the end of the campaign.

“After much negotiation we came to a satisfactory agreement, but a stipulation was that the contract had to include a get-out clause.

“This is not unusual in any way, in this day and age, as clubs and players try to find the best solution for all concerned.

““Unfortunately this clause was triggered last week, by two clubs, and we were then duty bound to allow the player to enter into talks.

“Naturally Kyle preferred going to a Championship club which, in matter of fact, gave Carlisle United the best deal from a business point of view, particularly once he decided that he wanted to move on and take on the challenge of playing at a higher level.

“We are bound by requests from both clubs, with Brad Potts and Kyle Dempsey, not to discuss the financial aspects of the transfer deals.

“But I can say that the Dempsey move in particular has a greater value than the figure which was reported.”