IT’S THE MOST wonderful time of the year — if you work for Sky Sports News that is. For everyone else, January’s transfer deadline is just a hodge-podge of misheard rumours and late-night faxes before we can get back to talking about real football again.
Still it’s only right that we keep an eye on the most important comings, goings, and overheard-on-the-red-line-Luas gossip so stay here for regular updates on the bits that matter (and let’s be honest, probably some bits that don’t).
As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the match. E-mail sport@thescore.ie, tweet @thescore_ie, post a message to our Facebook wall, or leave a comment below.
- Christopher Samba has joined QPR from Anzhi Makhachkala for a club record fee of £12.5m, in addition to moves for Jermaine Jenas and Andros Townsend.
- Sunderland have signed Swansea striker Danny Graham on a three-and-a-half-year deal
- Norwich announce that Luciano Becchio has arrived from Leeds United
- Peter Odemwingie’s move to QPR falls through, despite the striker arriving at their training ground.
- Arsenal sign left-back Nacho Monreal from Malaga.
- David Beckham is confirmed as a Paris Saint-Germain player. His salary will be paid to a local charity.
- Mario Balotelli has completed his move to AC Milan from Manchester City
- Stoke City agree a deal to sign Jack Butland
- Moves for Kevin Doyle, Aiden McGeady and Stephen Ward all fall through
- Ireland’s Rory Delap joins Barnsley on loan until the end of the season.
12.18 – Warm up the fax machine and calibrate the totaliser — it’s transfer deadline day, your bi-annual festival of hype-driven twaddle.
And nobody does hype-driven twaddle quite like us so if you’ve any interest in Becks to Paris, Becchio to Norwich or Sexton to Racing Metro (wait, we’ve got that one covered), stay right here between now and 11pm.
Do you hear that definitive slam? No? Well, you will when the transfer window shuts.
I’m Niall Kelly and I am your friend.
12.21 – Let’s get the important business out of the way first, shall we? Here’s Harry Redknapp giving Sky Sports News an interview while leaning out of his car window.
Do you reckon ‘Arry has those windows specially fitted? I mean, I don’t think the windows on my old Punto could handle that much rolling up and down.
12.26 – How about some actual news? In bullet point form:
- David Beckham is signing for Paris Saint-Germain. A press conference has been called for 4pm Irish time this evening.
- Norwich have pulled off an old-fashioned switcheroo to bring in Luciano Becchio from Leeds. Steve Morison heads to Elland Road as part of that deal.
- Mario Balotelli is expected to be officially presented as an AC Milan player tomorrow (Friday).
12.48 – If you’re waiting for the arrival of TheScore.ie’s very own Jim White, Paul “Fenno” Fennessy, don’t worry — he will be here later to bring you all of the most important news right up until 11pm.
That is, provided we can find him. If you see him out and about, tweet us using the hashtag #wheresfenno. The future of deadline day depends on him.
13.02 – It looks like it’s only a matter of time before Sunderland announce that they have signed Danny Graham from Swansea.
Wonder if James McClean will celebrate like this with him…
13.06 – “Mad Mario” Balotelli has been saying his goodbyes at Manchester City as he packs the bags for Milan. Here’s a little bit of his farewell statement:
I think to win the Premier League was a very special moment, and I am proud to have been a part of that.
And the 6-1 win at Old Trafford was also a big moment in my life. I know what that meant to the supporters, the joy it gave them. To have scored in that game and been part of that history will always live with me.
13.20 – Here’s some news that will probably only be of interest to you if you support any of the clubs involved:
- AC Milan’s Urby Emanuelson has joined Fulham on loan until the end of the season.
- Wigan have signed Paul Scharner on loan.
- Alejandro Faurlin is off to Palermo from QPR on loan.
- Liverpool striker Dani Pacheco is going to SD Heusca of the Spanish second division on loan.
- Yacouba Sylla is expected to agree a transfer from Clermont Foot to Aston Villa. “Sylla at the Villa” it is…
- Is Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes off to Hoffenheim? Maybe. Just maybe.
14.18 – News from Norwich City. The Canaries have had yet another bid rejected by Celtic for striker Gary Hooper. They have sealed Luciano Becchio’s signature as the Argentine becomes the latest ex-Leeds player to join Chris Hughton’s side.
Credit: @NorwichCityFC
14.26 – All quiet at Tottenham at the moment, we’re told. Not to worry, we’re expecting them to start making moves with about three hours of the window remaining.
15.04 – Just under eight hours until the window closes now and look who’s en route to the office… #wheresfenno
15.16 – A man touted as the future England No.1, Jack Butland, has been the subject of much interest this month with Chelsea and Manchester City hoping to sign him from Birmingham City. However, it looks as though Stoke City have won the race to bring in the 19-year-old. Sky Sports are reporting that he will join the Potters but remain on loan at Birmingham for the remainder of the season.
Asmir Begovic to leave for one of the top four in the summer?
15.58 – DONE DEAL: Former Ireland international Rory Delap has left Stoke for Barnsley so expect to see his trademark long throw-in at Oakwell in the near future.
16.05 – Aston Villa confirm they have completed the signing of French defensive midfielder Yacouba Sylla from Clermont Foot.
16.20 – Paul Fennessy here taking over for the next while.
First piece of news I’ve heard unsurprisingly comes from those infamous Sky sources. Apparently Willian is set to move from Shakhtar Donetsk to Anzhi Makhachkala for £30m.
16.47 – The David Beckham press conference is underway.
The club describe the move as “very special,” saying they’ve been trying to sign Beckham for a long time.
He says he “hasn’t spoken French since he was at school”. He is “excited” about the move and says that his wife and children will be staying in London, because the kids go to school there.
He says he thinks he has had more offers of late than ever before in his career. He says he joined the club because it is “growing”.
17.14 – Sad news for English football fans.
It’s been officially confirmed that Heurelho Gomes has left Tottenham to join Hoffenheim.
Meanwhile, Jack Butland has interestingly snubbed Chelsea and joined Stoke City. He will be loaned back to Birmingham until the end of the season.
17.39 – A move to Tottenham for Leandro Damiao is set to happen, according to The Daily Mail.
SSN, on the other hand, say the move is “unlikely”.
The club could also be set to finally offload David Bentley and Jermain Jenas, in addition to sending Andros Townsend out on loan.
Here’s a video of the Brazilian striker to whet Spurs’ fans’ appetite, in case he does sign.
YouTube credit: MatheusDiasHD
17.52 – Arsenal appear to have completed what is surely the cheapest non-free-transfer of this transfer window (h/t Gingers4Limpar).
17.58 – Ray Wilkins’ verdict on Aston Villa’s latest signing, Yacouba Sylla:
“I’ve never heard of him, I’ve got to say.”
18.05 – Those fine folks at at The Daily Edge have come up with 7 things David Beckham should do in France. Read it here.
18.08 – Norwich really want to sign Gary Hooper.
18.25 – “I’m very happy,” is all Luciano Becchio can tell Sky Sports News about moving to Norwich.
Not the most talkative footballer out there, clearly.
18.41 – Apparently, the Peter Odemwingie move to QPR has fallen through, and the striker is not happy about it.
West Brom wanted Junior Hoilett on loan as part of the deal.
18.50 – So here’s every transfer that’s been completed so far today:
Khaled Al-Rashidi (Al Arabi – Nottingham Forest) Free
Chuks Aneke (Arsenal – Crewe) Loan
Mario Balotelli (Man City – AC Milan) £19m
Patrick Bamford (Chelsea – MK Dons) Loan
Jason Banton (Crystal Palace – Plymouth) Loan
Shaun Batt (Millwall – Leyton Orient) Loan
Luciano Becchio (Leeds – Norwich) Swap deal
David Beckham (Unattached – Paris St-Germain) Free
Steve Collis (Unattached – Rochdale) Free
Rory Delap (Stoke – Barnsley) Loan
Alexander Doni (Liverpool – Botafogo) Free
Kieron Dyer (Unattached – Middlesbrough)
Ahmed Elmohamady (Sunderland – Hull City) Loan
Urby Emanuelson (AC Milan – Fulham) Loan
Lee Evans (Newport – Wolves) Undisclosed
Ahmed Fathi (Al Ahly – Hull City) Loan
Alejandro Faurlin (QPR – Palermo) Loan
Jonathan Forte (Southampton – Sheffield United) Loan
Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham – Hoffenheim) Loan
Gianluca Gracco (Unattached – Dagenham & Redbridge)
Danny Graham (Swansea – Sunderland) £5m
Asa Hall (Shrewsbury – Aldershot) Loan
Mark Hughes (Bury – Accrington) Loan
Nicky Hunt (Rotherham – Accrington) Loan
Chris Iwelumo (Watford – Oldham) Loan
Leon Legge (Brentford – Gillingham) Undisclosed
Kevin Mbabu (Servette – Newcastle) Undisclosed
Steve Morison (Norwich – Leeds) Swap deal
Darren Murphy (Port Vale – Macclesfield Town) Free
Mohamed Nagy (Al Ahly – Hull City) Loan
Jordan Obita (Reading – Oldham) Loan
Chris O’Grady (Sheffield Wednesday – Barnsley) Loan
Alex Pritchard (Tottenham – Peterborough) Loan
Paul Rachubka (Leeds – Accrington) Loan
Christopher Samba (Anzhi Makhachkala – QPR) £12.5m
Paul Scharner (Hamburg – Wigan) Loan
Yacouba Sylla (Clermont Foot – Aston Villa) £2m
19.29 – Given that nothing’s happening at the moment, here’s a quick poll for you, asking:
What’s been the best January Transfer Window deal so far?
Poll Results:
19.35 – As I mentioned earlier, Mario Balotelli has already scored his first goal for AC Milan.
Check it out here.
19.44 – It didn’t take them long…
(Anthony Devlin/PA Wire/Press Association Images)
19.54 – Jermaine Jenas is at QPR. He calls them “a top club” and says he’s looking forward to working with “all the players”.
He’s “confident” they can stay up.
Don’t you just love Deadline Day interviews?
19.58 – Amy Lawrence is leaving The Guardian, but denies she is set to sign for QPR or any other club.
20.10 – Peter Odemwingie has turned up at QPR, despite West Brom saying he hasn’t been granted permission to speak to the club.
A bit cheeky, no?
20.54 – Liverpool (£20.5m) and QPR (£20.5m) are the two clubs that have spent the most money in the January Transfer Window so far.
Meanwhile, Man City have made the biggest profit (£22m).
Neil Lennon has also confirmed that Gary Hooper is “NOT” leaving the club.
Just over two hours of prospective transfer activity remain now.
21.45 – The Internacional chairman has confirmed that Tottenham’s offer for Leandro Damiao was rejected.
Meanwhile, some fans at Norwich make some very rude gestures in the background during a live report. Tut-tut!
22.07 – So apparently, Tottenham aren’t working on any more bids for strikers, which means they’ll have to be content with Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor for the rest of the season.
And in other Tottenham news, one of their youngsters, Simon Dawkins, has gone on loan to Villa.
22.13 – Here’s the aforementioned moment those dirty-minded Norwich fans decided to sabotage Sky’s report with their somewhat immature antics.
YouTube credit: 1001greatgoals
(h/t @BuzzFeedSports)
22.33 – Jermaine Jenas has officially signed for QPR. He says Harry Redknapp was “a big factor” in the signing, despite the fact that the veteran coach almost never him played him at Tottenham.
In other news, Xisco has had his contract with Newcastle terminated.
22.38 – BREAKING: Wolves confirm they have turned down Celtic’s loan bid for Kevin Doyle.
Meanwhile, Jack Butland has officially joined Stoke City.
Less than half an hour to go now before the window closes.
22.45 – Stoke’s new signing, Brek Shea, seems like a bit of a character.
YouTube credit: mls
22.51 – Perhaps Tottenham were a tad hasty in getting rid of the Brazilian after all…
23.06 – BREAKING: Nacho Monreal has joined Arsenal from Malaga, just ahead of the window’s closure.
23.15 – While everyone else was getting worked up over Transfer Deadline Day, James McCarthy was blissfully unaware of proceedings.
23.24 – Right, that’s all from me for tonight.
Thanks for reading and commenting. I’m off for a sleep.
23.28 – Sorry, before I go to bed, here’s one last photo of the increasingly desperate measures Peter Odemwingie is taking to join QPR (h/t @DannyRush81).
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