Manchester City completed their shock swoop for injury-plagued former
Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves on transfer deadline day,
while Arsenal signed Brazilian defender Andre Santos, Germany
centre-back Per Mertesacker and Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun.
Hargreaves
was released by United at the end of last season after the champions
rejected his offer to play for free following a miserable four-year
spell at Old Trafford.
The former England star suffered a series
of knee injuries following his move to United from Bayern Munich in 2007
and spent much of the close-season trying to convince potential
employers that he was still capable of playing at the highest level.
City
believe Hargreaves is completely recovered from his knee surgeries and
they put the finishing touches to the one-year contract after the
30-year-old passed an extensive medical over the last 24 hours.
At
the Emirates Stadium, Arsene Wenger was the busiest boss on deadline
day as he signed full-back Santos from Fenerbahce for STG6.2 million
($A9.51 million) and Werder Bremen’s Mertesacker for around STG8 million
($A12.27 million) as he tried to shore up a leaky defence that shipped
eight goals at Manchester United on Sunday.
Chelsea midfielder
Benayoun was the next Arsenal signing, joining on loan for the rest of
the season in the final minutes before the window closed, with Everton
midfielder Mikel Arteta said to be another potential target.
Wenger
has been forced to make a series of last-ditch deals before Wednesday’s
2200GMT (0700 AEST) deadline after Arsenal’s miserable start to the
season and Santos, Mertesacker and Benayoun arrived after South Korea
striker Park Chu-Young, who joined from Monaco on Tuesday.
Across
north London, Tottenham signed England midfielder Scott Parker from
West Ham in a deal believed to be worth STG6 million ($A9.2 million).
Redknapp
was able to hang onto Croatia midfielder Luka Modric despite a STG40
million ($A61.36 million) offer from Chelsea on Tuesday, but England
striker Peter Crouch is set to follow his team-mate Wilson Palacios to
Stoke after the Honduras midfielder completed a 6 million ($A9.2
million) switch to the FA Cup finalists.
Stoke also hope to sign Cameron Jerome after reportedly agreeing a fee for the Birmingham forward.
With
Chelsea failing to get Modric, the Blues launched a late move for
Liverpool midfielder Raul Meireles, who handed in a transfer request on
Wednesday in a bid to force through a deal.
Meanwhile, Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish brought Craig Bellamy back to Anfield four years after the Wales striker left the club.
Bellamy,
who spent the 2006-07 season at Liverpool, had been unwanted at
Manchester City since last season when he went on loan to Cardiff after
falling out with boss Roberto Mancini.
England winger Joe Cole,
who failed to shine at Liverpool following his free transfer from
Chelsea in 2010, joined French champions Lille in a surprise season-long
loan deal.
Another Liverpool midfielder, Christian Poulsen, was
also on the move to France as the Denmark international joined Evian on a
one-year contract just over a season after arriving at Anfield.
Blackburn
signed Birmingham centre-back Scott Dann on a four-year contract, while
QPR brought in England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips from Manchester
City.
Wigan Athletic signed Scotland forward Shaun Maloney from
Celtic and also snapped up young Chelsea defender Patrick van Aanholt on
a season-long loan on Wednesday.
Maloney reportedly cost STG1
million ($A1.53 million) and has agreed a two-year contract with the
Latics with an option for an additional one-year extension.
Aston
Villa signed of Republic of Ireland Under-21 international defender
Enda Stevens, who will officially join Alex McLeish’s side from Shamrock
Rovers in January.
