Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, West Ham United, Everton, Manchester City and Middlesbrough feature in our rundown of memorable August deals on transfer deadline day.
Well we’re finally here, it’s Transfer Deadline Day, and what a day it is shaping up to be. The importance of deals today completed will be greatly affecting many top clubs, in particular Tottenham, who are looking to grab a last minute bargain to help the club in its battle for Champions League qualification.
It’s hard to believe it but Transfer Deadline Day has only been around since 2002 as such a major event, despite the occasion ingrained on every football fans mind across the country when August 31st comes around.
It’s the one day of the year where you know that you can look forward to seeing Jim White admirably avoiding a crushing from the barrage of information thrown at him, Andy Burton bobbing about the Sky Sports studio taking calls left right and centre, panic etched across his face and endless coverage of Geordies singing outside St James’ Park in the deathly cold at 11 PM.
There is nothing like it, and whether you hate it or not, it’s arguably one of the most important dates on the football calendar. Mess your deals up now and there’s no time to recover.
There simply is nothing like hearing of a shock transfer story on the last day of the window and for that reason we’ve compiled a list of the most surprising deadline day signings of the last ten years:
Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham Hotspur to Manchester Utd, 2008)
An exit from Spurs had been on the cards for the majority of the Summer of 2008, so his departure was not a surprise. However the manner in which the Bulgarian completed his transfer to Ferguson’s United side was.
Sir Alex had expressed his desire to add the Spurs star to his talented squad not long after the previous season had finished, irking a furious response from the Spurs Chairman, Daniel Levy, who instantly submitted a complaint over United’s conduct. The interest shown appeared to affect Berbatov’s mentality leaving the player disillusioned and reportedly refusing to play.
Therefore when on transfer deadline day an offer was accepted from the blue half of Manchester for Berbatov, Spurs fans would have been rubbing their hands in glee at getting one over on Sir Alex. That was until pictures appeared of the wily Scotsman turned up at Manchester Airport to hijack the deal and bring Berbatov to his dream destination.
The offer from United was said to be substantially higher than City’s (some would say as a way of persuading Levy to drop the complaint) and Frazier Campbell moved in the opposite direction on loan for the season bringing with him a bag full of £30 million.
Berbatov’s time at Manchester United has been mixed, with team success a highlight for the striker but a distinct infrequency in team selections marring his spell. It now appears that he will be on the move this Summer with Fulham the favourites for his signature, reuniting Martin Jol with his former player.
Marouane Fellaini (Standard Liege to Everton, 2008)
During Bill Kenwright’s tenure at the financial helm of Everton FC it’s fair to say that he’s been a conservative figure when it comes to spending money on the club. Before the arrival of Fellaini, Yakubu had been the only player to have joined the club for an eight figure amount, with Everton also only usually taking in a maximum of three players per window.
It therefore appeared that the Chairman of the club had suffered a rush of blood to the head when £15 million was splashed out on Belgium’s 20-year old Central midfielder Marouane Fellaini from Standard Liege. Even stranger about the signing was that it was a large amount splashed on Deadline day, Kenwright usually favouring his higher value deals to be completed earlier in the summer previously.
In saying that Fellaini was known across European football as one of the best young talents of the game and with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester Utd, amongst others, interested a move needed to be made if the club were to get their man.
Since his move Fellaini has dominated Premier League midfields across the country and proved himself to be a shrewd acquisition. Looking at the tall Belgian it’s hard to believe he is still only 24. Everton will be hoping to keep Fellaini for years to come, having proved that last minute buying doesn’t have to be wasteful.
William Gallas (Chelsea to Arsenal, 2006)
Or to be more precise the William Gallas Saga rather than the transfer itself. Not only did William Gallas make the move across London but going in the opposite direction Ashley Cole joined Chelsea.
Whilst rumours of Ashley Cole joining Chelsea had been rumoured for months it came as somewhat of a surprise when then Chelsea fan favourite William Gallas was sacrificed to bring the England left back in.
Gallas had been a regular over the years for Chelsea but having seen Ricardo Carvalho join the club and form an effective partnership alongside Mr Chelsea, John Terry, Gallas found himself being shifted out of position to the less favoured left back position. Meanwhile Ashley Cole was causing traffic mayhem on the roads following a dispute over personal terms on a new deal.
Following personal terms breaking down over the new contract at Arsenal, Ashley Cole demanded a move, with it later emerging that Chelsea had tapped up the player through secret meeting. Although Arsenal were reluctant to sell to such deceiving customers, the sweetener of Gallas helped to seal the deal, a move ideal for Chelsea who had allegedly received threats from Gallas to score own goals if he was kept in the left back slot for the club.
Cole has been a consistent name on the teamsheet at Chelsea whilst Gallas achieved mixed individual success at Arsenal before crossing North London to join Spurs. This transfer window shows no signs that either temperamental defender will be looking for new homes.
Paul Konchesky (Fulham to Liverpool, 2010)
Paul Konchesky is largely renowned for being one of the luckiest players to have pulled on an England shirt alongside Michael Ricketts and Carlton Palmer, and in 2010 he hit the jackpot once again as one of Liverpool’s new boss Roy Hodgson’s first signings for the club.
The left back and Hodgson had previous history together having both spent time together at Fulham the previous season, with Konchesky performing admirably well for the club in arguably the greatest spell of his career. The season before his transfer Konchesky had been a vital component of the Fulham machine that had upset the odds to reach the Europa League final where they were narrowly beaten by Atletico Madrid.
Based on Fulham’s performances, Liverpool highlighted Hodgson as the man they wanted to replace the highly popular Rafa Benitez and take the club back up to the higher echelons of European football once again. Implementing his style on the club began and with the left back position a problematic area, Konchesky was targeted and brought in.
Sadly for Liverpool Konchesky failed to make the same impact for the club as he had done at Fulham and a distinct gulf in class between him and other top Premier League left backs was evident. To add insult to injury Fulham purchased former Reds defender Jon Arne Riise who has performed well as a replacement.
Just five months after signing for Liverpool, the arrival of Kenny Dalglish effectively spelt the end of Konchesky’s Liverpool career, firstly joining Nottingham Forest on loan before completing a permanent move to Leicester City.
Javier Mascherano & Carlos Tevez (Corinthians to West Ham, 2006)
Arguably the strangest transfer in Premier League history, let alone Deadline Day, the Argentine duo completed moves to the East Londoners in summer 2006. Standing next to Alan Pardew, both holding West Ham shirts, you couldn’t help but assume the pictures must be photoshopped.
Both men were just 22 at the time and it was to be their first experiences of European football, though the interests of the likes of Real Madrid and AC Milan appeared the more likely destination. Both had excelled in their native country at River Plate and Boca Juniors respectively before teaming up to great success at Santos. At this stage they were both being considered for international reckoning and their careers looked to be rocketing sky high.
Dubious circumstances surrounded the deal however and it soon emerged why many top clubs had backed away from the transfer, as agent Kia Joorabchian’s shady dealings through third party’s added complications to the deal and troubled the lawmakers of the Premier League.
Despite this, Tevez played a key part in the second half of the Premier League season, helping to keep West Ham in the division through exciting and innovative performances, though Mascherano failed to make a significant impact at all.
In 2007, a year later they both departed the club to head to Premier League clubs Liverpool and Man Utd where success was achieved by both. Mascherano then moved on to Barcelona where he currently plays before Tevez broke the cardinal rule of football, switching allegiance to Man City. Despite a tumultuous spell at the club, Tevez looks likely to stay at the club for at least one more season.
Robinho (Real Madrid to Man City, 2008)
Back in the Summer of 2008, Robinho spent the off-season repeatedly reminding the media of his desire to leave Real Madrid at Chelsea, telling every camera pointed in his face.
It therefore came as somewhat of a shock, when later in the window it was being reported that Chelsea’s interest in the Brazilian trickster had been dropped. It left the Brazilian in a bit of a pickle, with Real Madrid fans disgusted by his behaviour in attempting to negotiate a move away.
Nevertheless Man City were on hand to give the international star an escape route following the recent arrival of Middle East money at Eastlands. Earlier in the day reports had linked the club with Dimitar Berbatov, but as the Bulgarian moved closer to signing for Man Utd, City turned their attentions to the temperamental Robinho.
Midway through the evening it was finally announced that Robinho had signed on the dotted line for a fee in the region of £30 million. The move proved to be the kick-start to City’s spending that has brought to their current prosperous position.
Having failed to show up in the clichéd Midweek games at the likes of Stoke and Blackburn, fans soon began to grow frustrated of the Brazilian, as cracks began to appear in the relationship. In 2010 he moved back to boyhood club Santos on loan, before AC Milan eventually took up the opportunity of signing the player where he still plays today, settled for the first time in his career.
Fabio Rochemback (FC Barcelona to Middlesbrough, 2005)
Back in 2005, Fabio Rochemback followed Gaizka Mendieta as a player to have played for both Barcelona and Middlesbrough, in a huge coup for the Teesiders. Plans were made for Rochemback to play the perfect foil to Mendieta in a midfield packed with experience and proven quality.
Steve McClaren, back when he was popular was assembling a good squad at Middlesbrough at the time full of talented, ambitious players and the signing of Rochemback on the final day of the transfer window seemed like a great addition along with fellow new signing Yakubu.
Unfortunately for the set piece specialist, his spell at Barcelona had been fairly unfruitful and the two years previous to joining Boro, Rochemback had spent on loan at Sporting Lisbon. Nevertheless regular appearances across all competitions indicated that McClaren had a star on his hands.
In his time at the club Rochemback helped Middlesbrough to reach the final of the Europa League, a mainstay in a team that specialised in the come back victory, and proved that he was capable of playing at the highest level despite his inconsistent performances at times. When he was good, he was very, very good, one Boro fan once told me.
After his time at the club, he returned to Sporting but could not replicate his Boro form and has seen himself drop back to the Brazilian league with Gremio before joining a host of top players in moving to China in January of this year.
This year will no doubt once again see the suprise signing of yet another player who will make his mark on the Premier League for good, or bad. Who do you think it’ll be this time around?
image: © Alfonso Jimenez
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