Fulham boss Chris Coleman

Chris Coleman has admitted Fulham's £1.5million signing of US international Clint Dempsey could be scuppered by a work permit tribunal in the new year.

A potential problem for Coleman is that 23-year-old Dempsey has not appeared in a high enough percentage of his country's recent international matches to automatically qualify for a work permit.

"We've agreed a fee but it still has to go to the tribunal," said Coleman, who expects the player will arrive in January "with a bit of luck".

He added: "He's had a few injury problems so he's just a little bit short there.

"But it's not like he's coming here to sit on the bench. He's coming because we've bought him to make a big impact."

Coleman, who is not taking the tribunal decision for granted, said: "We've been there before and not won all of them, so we've got to keep our fingers crossed."

But he is hoping for a successful outcome after tracking the New England Revolution player for two years and finally agreeing a fee with the controlling Major League Soccer, which holds player contracts in the States.

The Fulham boss, who already has US internationals Brian McBride and Carlos Bocanegra in his starting line-up, enthused: "Clint's a wide player up front, can play either flank, strong with pace, a good player, good touch.

"I saw him about two years ago and then saw him playing at the World Cup for the US. Then I went out to watch him playing a few times in the States for New England and have always liked him.

"He has all the attributes to be a good player in the Premier League, is the right age and was in our price range."

Vincenzo Montella, AS Roma's 32-year-old former Italy international forward, could also be arriving at Craven Cottage, possibly on loan until the end of the season.

But Coleman said: "He's sounded me out, that's all I can say. He's a player I've watched and I like but I respect Roma's wishes and I won't comment any further on it."

He also ruled out a move for Tottenham midfielder Danny Murphy stating: "I can kill that.

"We were looking at Danny when he left Liverpool to go to Charlton but there's no truth in the Danny Murphy story."

Coleman also denied that he will be making a move for Norwegian defender Per Nilsson, who plays for Odd Grenland.

"I watched Per Nilsson when I watched someone who played in the same game against him, but Nilsson is not a target of ours," said Coleman, who will be looking for players in a number of positions to bolster his injury-ravaged squad.

"We're looking in many positions because we are quite short. We'll be looking at loan players and we also have a little bit of money to spend. We need a couple of faces at least," he added.