Football roundup: EPL final day transfer dealings
In the end, no big headlines were made on the transfer day deadline of the English Premier League. The day is usually an important step towards bringing in quality players just before the transfer window shuts down. Yet it seems that this English Premier League transfer deadline seemed to be suffering from England’s very own World Cup hangover. Except for Manchester City, which did most of its dealings before the deadline date, there were no real movers and shakers in the league. This transfer lethargy continued up till the deadline.
In fact, the biggest transfer on the day might not even go through. The English Premier League has still to approve of the move made by Tottenham Hotspur for Real Madrid’s Dutch midfielder Rafael Van Der Vaart. A deal around 8 million pounds seems to have been approved, and it is strange that there were not many more suitors for the world-class talented player. One would have thought that given the lack of creativity in the middle of the park, Liverpool would have moved for the playmaker. Yet that never came to pass as Spurs made a late bid on transfer day to capture Van Der Vaart. Now it is up to the Premier League to decide if the deal has been done before transfer deadline midnight.
What can be confirmed, however, is Spurs’ loan signing of goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa on a yearlong deal. The Croat has been bought to provide competition to the goalkeeping department at White Hart Lane.
Liverpool did, however, sanction the purchase of left back Paul Konchesky. Konchesky joins from Fulham to be reunited with his former manager Roy Hodgson. Konchesky was part of a mean defence at Fulham for Hodgson, as they made all the way to the final of the Europa League. It is by no means a spectacular signing but Konchesky, along with Fabio Aurelio, will provide stability. And unlike his Brazilian counterpart, Konchesky has a better medical record, which should mean that Daniel Agger might not have to deputise at left back anymore. Someone who will not provide competition for Konchesky at left back will be Argentinean teenager Emiliano Insua who left Liverpool for Turkish giants Galatasaray. The deal is a yearlong loan with the option to make it permanent at the end of that duration.
Liverpool were also looking to bolster their attacking options but failed in their bid to bring West Ham United striker Carlton Cole to Anfield. A deal could not be struck and now Liverpool will have to rely on Fernando Torres remaining consistently fit until at least January.
Arsenal failed to sign any goalkeepers as Mark Schwarzer stayed at Fulham and Shay Given decided to duke it out with Joe Hart for the goalkeeper’s jersey at Manchester City. This could be a significant lack of business on Arsenal’s part, as their goalkeeping has left much to be desired and has usually been cited as a major weakness. It remains to be seen how much this will cost manager Arsene Wenger. There was an exit on the deadline day as Armand Traore left for Juventus on a yearlong loan.
The biggest financial move on the day came at the stadium of light, as Sunderland swooped in for Asamoah Gyan in a club record 13-million pound deal. Steve Bruce finally got the Ghana international, who famously missed his penalty in the quarter finals against Uruguay. Gyan will fill in the gap left by striker Kenwyne Jones who had earlier in the summer moved to Stoke City.
Birmingham FC were active in the market as they secured the signings of defender Martin Jiranek and Chilean attacking midfielder Jean Beausejour. They also managed to squeeze in the loan signing of former Arsenal player Alexander Hleb. Birmingham has reinforced wisely in the closing moments of the transfer window and manager Alex McLeish must be delighted with the squad at his disposal after a successful buying summer.
Meanwhile, Premier League new boys bolstered their ranks with the signing of DJ Campbell on a permanent basis, while Wigan secured the signing of Chelsea striker Franco Di Santo on a permanent 3-year deal basis.
Tags: