Deadline day has typically been a day of madness for managers as they roll the dice for the final time, frantically making calls to make those last minute adjustments to their squad. With the injection of foreign investment and the development of their market credentials, the premier league has become the leading force in European football attracting world-class players from around the globe. With the exception of Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve, deadline day is the most anticipated event in the calendar for sports fanatics and it did not fail to spring up some surprises this summer. Although we could not see Harry Redknapp make his usual appearance in his car window waffling to the sky reporters, we did see some Redknapp-like swindling in the last few hours. Clint Dempsey being the obvious example after stumping bids from Liverpool and Villa in favour of Spurs in the final minutes of the window. The signing was no doubt hastened by the shrewd chairmanship of Daniel Levy who also had an accepted bid from Fulham for Moussa Dembele. The signings didn’t stop there. Here’s the low-down:

Rajahruncorn’s Verdict:

Ones to Watch:

 

Eden Hazard (32 Million, Chelsea): The price tag speaks for itself but he’s worth every penny in my opinion. Already with 5 assists in his first 2 games, a feat that class-a numpty Stewart Downing could not accomplish all season, the Belgium international looks set to play a pivotal role as Chelsea bid to win the title. His slight physique gives him the ability to ghost past players with ease making him into a tricky customer for defenders. He was French Ligue 1’s player of the season last year, so there is a lot of expectation heaped on the 21 year old but he has already reacted well to this pressure.

Moussa Dembele (15 Million, Spurs): Another impressive Belgian that deserves a mention after an inspired season’s effort with Fulham. His goalscoring record might not be exceptional but his direct, powerful approach to the game will give AVB a strong contender for that midfield role. Presumably, he is seen as a like for like replacement for Luka Modric who left the club in a high profile 30 million pound move to Real Madrid earlier in the week. Modric is perhaps the more deep-lying midfielder of the two who often likes to dictate attacking moves by spreading the ball from deep. The much sought after Joao Moutinho would have been the best replacement for Modric but the deal broke down after two multi-million pound payments to third parties could not be ironed out in time. Regardless, Dembele will give creative options for AVB and looks set to shine this season as Spurs bid for a top 4 finish.

Shinji Kagawa (17 Million, Man U): The Japanese superstar was part of a Bundesliga winning side at Borrussia Dortmund, so looks like a good signing for Fergie as he looks to bolster his midfield options. Despite being hailed as a ‘shirt seller’, or as a business move rather than a footballing one, the 23 year old is a hugely effective player- he can pick a decisive pass, beat a player and has the technique to be prolific in front of goal as his Dortmund record may testify to (21 in 49 matches- outstanding for a midfield player.) His fitness is also impeccable as shown by a recent bleep test he undertook, stunning the coaching staff by taking the test to its highest level, reportedly the most impressive display by a United Player since David Beckham in 2003.

Santi Cozorla (16.5 Million, Arsenal): The versatile winger is a much-needed scalp for Wenger who looks to replace the gaps left by Alex Song and Robin Van Persie. He is recognised for his speed on the ball and, when given his chance, will showcase his neat finishing. The signing shows that there is still ambition at the club despite many players, most notably RVP, disputing this.

Oscar (25 Million, Chelsea): Looks a good player to me. Despite question marks over his physicality, he, like Hazard, has that ability to sliver past players, as a result of a meagre physique and an abundance of pace. Chelsea’s signings make them serious contenders for the title.

Top Bargains-

Angelo Henriquez (3.5 Million, Man U): Youngster from Chile seems like another astute bit of business from Fergie and an investment towards the future of the club. I have seen him play for Universidad de Chile and he really impressed me with his overall contribution, especially his finishing. He scored 11 goals in 17 games for the Chilean side and although he might not figure immediately will certainly be a key player in years to come.

Robert Snodgrass (3 Million, Norwich): He’s been bossing games in the championship for quite some time now and I have no doubt that he can make the step up to the prem. He has a ferocious right-footed shot and can also pull the strings in an attacking midfield area being a versatile solution for any mid-table side.

Michu (2 Million, Swansea): Looks a real steal for 2 million so credit has to be given to Laudraup as he bids to stay in the premier league for another season. Scoring 2 on his debut he looks a very rounded player with crucially, an eye for goal. He will blend in well with Swansea’s continental style coming from a spanish club that like to play passing football.

A frenetic last day of transfer activity saw a number of high profile deals completed sending the overall transfer expenditure to a massive £490 million, an increase of £5m from last summer’s window, according to analysis by business advisory firm Deloitte. Here’s a comprehensive list of these signings:

ARSENAL                                                                                                                                           

IN

Santi Cazorla (Malaga, £16.5m), Olivier Giroud (Montpellier, £13m), Lukas Podoloski (Cologne, £11m)

OUT

Alex Song (Barcelona, £15m), Robin van Persie (Manchester United, £24m), Gavin Hoyte (Dagenham, free), Manuel Almunia (Watford, free), Joel Campbell (Real Betis, loan), Denilson (Sao Paulo, loan), Ryo Miyaichi (Wigan, loan), Kyle Bartley (Swansea, £1m), Henri Lansbury (Nottingham Forest, £1m), Park Chu-young (Celta Vigo, loan), Nicklas Bendtner (Juventus, loan)

ASTON VILLA                                                                                                                                    

IN

Matthew Lowton (Sheffield United, £3m), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord, undisclosed), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord, undisclosed) Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar, free), Jordan Bowery (Chesterfield, undisclosed), Joe Bennett (Middlesbrough, £2.5m), Ashley Westwood (Crewe, undisclosed), Christian Benteke (Genk, £7m)

OUT

James Collins (West Ham, undisclosed), Carlos Cuellar (Sunderland, free), Emile Heskey (released), Nathan Delfouneso (Blackpool, loan)

CHELSEA                                                                                                                                           

IN

Eden Hazard (Lille, £32m), Oscar (Internacional, £25m), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen, £7m), Thorgan Hazard (Lens, free), Victor Moses (Wigan, £9m), Cesar Azpilicueta (Marseille, £7m)

OUT

Didier Drogba (Shanghai Shenhua, free), Jacob Mellis (Barnsley, free), Salomon Kalou (Lille, free), Jose Bosingwa (QPR, free), Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid, loan), Romelu Lukaku (West Bromwich Albion, loan), Kevin De Bruyne (Werder Bremen, loan), Sam Hutchinson (Nottingham Forest, loan),Josh McEachran (Middlesbrough, loan), Nathaniel Chalobah (Watford, loan), Thorgan Hazard (Zulte-Waregem, loan), Yossi Benayoun (West Ham, loan), Michael Essien (Real Madrid, loan)

EVERTON                                                                                                                                           

IN

Steven Pienaar (Tottenham, £4.5m), Steven Naismith (Rangers, free), Kevin Mirallas (Olympiakos, £5.2m), Bryan Oviedo (FC Copenhagen, undisclosed), Matthew Kennedy (Kilmarnock, nominal fee), Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe (Club Brugge, loan) 

OUT

Jack Rodwell (Everton, £12m), Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls, £1m), Adam Forshaw (Brentford, undisclosed), James Wallace (Tranmere, undisclosed), Joao Silva (Levski Sofia, undisclosed), Joseph Yobo (Fenerbahce, undisclosed), James McFadden (released), Marcus Hahnemann (released)

FULHAM                                                                                                                                              

IN

Hugo Rodallega (Wigan, free), Mladen Petric (Hamburg, free), George Williams (MK Dons, free), Sascha Riether (Cologne, loan), Kieran Richardson (Sunderland, undisclosed), Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United, £5m), Ashkan Dejagah (Wolsfburg, undisclosed)

OUT

Mousa Dembele (Tottenham, £15m), Dickson Etuhu (Blackburn, undisclosed), Marcel Gecov (AA Gent, undisclosed), Andrew Johnson (QPR, free), Danny Murphy (Blackburn, free), Pavel Pogrebnyak (Reading, free), Bjorn Helge Riise (released), Orlando Sa (released), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham, £6m)

LIVERPOOL                                                                                                                                       

IN

Nuri Sahin (Real Madrid, loan), Joe Allen (Swansea, £15m), Fabio Borini (Roma, £10m) Oussama Assaidi (Heerenveen, £3m), Samed Yesil (Bayern Leverkusen £1m)

OUT

Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbache, £1m), Craig Bellamy (Cardiff, undisclosed), Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina, undisclosed), Maxi Rodriguez (Newell’s Old Boys, undisclosed) Fabio Aurelio (Gremio, free), David Amoo (Preston North End, free), Stephen Darby (Bradford, free), Andy Carroll (West Ham, loan), Jay Spearing (Bolton, loan), Charlie Adam (Stoke, £4m), Nathan Eccleston (Blackpool, loan)

MANCHESTER CITY                                                                                                                        

IN

Jack Rodwell (Everton, £12m), Scott Sinclair (Swansea, £8m), Maicon (Inter Milan, undisclosed), Richard Wright (Preston North End, free), Matija Nastasic (Fiorentina, undisclosed), Javi Garcia (Benfica, £16m)

OUT

Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham, £5m), Vladimir Weiss (Pescara, undisclosed), Greg Cunningham (Bristol City, free), Owen Hargreaves (released), Gunnar Nielsen (released), Stuart Taylor (Reading, free), Wayne Bridge (Brighton, loan), Adam Johnson (Manchester City £10m), Nigel de Jong (AC Milan, undisclosed), Roque Santa Cruz (Malaga, loan), Dedryck Boyata (FC Twente, loan), Stefan Savic (Fiorentina, player exchange) 

MANCHESTER UNITED                                                                                                                 

IN

Angelo Henriquez (Universidad de Chile, undisclosed), Robin van Persie (Arsenal, £24m), Shinji Kagawa (Dortmund, £17m), Nick Powell (Crewe, £4m), Alexander Buttner (Vitesse Arnhem, £4m)

OUT

Park Ji-sung (QPR, undisclosed), Richie De Laet (Leicester, undisclosed), Matty James (Leicester, undisclosed) Paul Pogba (Juventus, free), Tomasz Kuszczak (Brighton, free), Michael Owen (released), Fabio (QPR, loan), Ben Amos (Hull, loan), Dimitar Berbatov (Fulham, £5m)

NEWCASTLE                                                                                                                                     

IN

Vurnon Anita (Ajax, £6.7m), Curtis Good (Melbourne Heart, £400,000), Gael Bigirimana (Coventry, undisclosed), Romain Amalfitano (Reims, free)

OUT

Leon Best (Blackburn, £3m), Fraser Forster (Celtic, £2m), Danny Guthrie (Reading, free), Peter Lovenkrands (Birmingham, free), Alan Smith (MK Dons, free) Ryan Donaldson (released), Tamas Kadar (Roda JC, free)

NORWICH                                                                                                                                          

IN

Sebastian Bassong (Tottenham, undisclosed), Robert Snodgrass (Leeds, £3m), Michael Turner (Sunderland, undisclosed), Jacob Butterfield (Barnsley, undisclosed), Steven Whittaker (Rangers, free), Javier Garrido (Lazio, loan), Alexander Tettey (Rennes, undisclosed), Mark Bunn (Blackburn, undisclosed)

OUT

Andrew Crofts (Brighton, undisclosed), Adam Drury (Leeds, free), Aaron Wilbraham (Crystal Palace, free), Zak Whitbread (Leicester, free), Josh Dawkin (released), Daniel Ayala (Nottingham Forest, loan), James Vaughan (Huddersfield, loan)

QUEENS PARK RANGERS                                                                                                            

IN

Junior Hoilett (Blackburn, tribunal), Park Ji-sung (Manchester United, undisclosed), Samba Diakite (Nancy, undisclosed), Robert Green (West Ham, free), Ryan Nelsen (Tottenham, free), Andrew Johnson (Fulham, free), Fabio (Manchester United, loan), Jose Bosingwa (Chelsea, free) Esteban Granero (Real Madrid, £9m), Sam Magri (Portsmouth, free), Stephane Mbia (Marseille, undisclosed)

OUT

Tommy Smith (Cardiff, £300,000), Paddy Kenny (Leeds, £400,000), Heidar Helguson (Cardiff, undisclosed), Rowan Vine (St Johnstone, free), Peter Ramage (Crystal Palace, free), Danny Gabbidon (released), Danny Shittu (released), Fitz Hall (released), Gary Borrowdale (released), Lee Cook(released), Patrick Agyemang (released), Akos Buzsaky (released), Joey Barton (Marseille, loan)

READING                                                                                                                                            

IN

Chris Gunter (Nottingham Forest, £2.5m), Adrian Mariappa (Watford, £2.5m), Pierce Sweeney (Bray Wanderers, undisclosed), Pavel Pogrebnyak (Fulham, free), Danny Guthrie (Newcastle, free), Garath McCleary (Nottingham Forest, free), Nicky Shorey (West Brom, free), Stuart Taylor (Manchester City, free)

OUT

Michail Antonio (Sheffield Wednesday, undisclosed), Tomasz Cywka (Barnsley, free), Brian Howard (released), Andy Griffin (released), Jack Mills (released), Joseph Mills (Burnley, loan) 

SOUTHAMPTON                                                                                                                               

IN

Emmanuel Mayuka (Young Boys Berne, undisclosed), Jay Rodriguez (Burnley, £6m), Paulo Gazzaniga (Gillingham, undisclosed), Steven Davis (Rangers, free), Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace, tribunal), Maya Yoshida (VVV-Venlo, undisclosed), Gaston Ramirez (Bologna, undisclosed)

OUT

Dan Harding (Nottingham Forest, undisclosed), Bartosz Bialkowski (Notts County, free), Lee Holmes (Preston North End, free), Ryan Doble (Shrewsbury, free), David Connolly (released), Radhi Jaidi (retired), Aaron Martin (Crystal Palace, loan), Tommy Forecast Gillingham, loan), Billy Sharp (Nottingham Forest, loan)

STOKE                                                                                                                                                 

IN

Michael Kightly (Wolves, £2m), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo, undisclosed), Jamie Ness (Rangers, free), Charlie Adam (Liverpool, £4m), Maurice Edu (Rangers, undisclosed), Steven Nzonzi (Blackburn, £3.5m)

OUT

Danny Collins (Nottingham Forest, undisclosed), Jonathan Woodgate (Middlesbrough, free), Andrew Davies (Bradford, free), Salif Diao (released), Ricardo Fuller (released), Louis Moult (released), Tom Soares (released)

SUNDERLAND                                                                                                                                  

IN

Louis Saha (Tottenham, free), Carlos Cuellar (Aston Villa, free), Steven Fletcher (Wolves, £15m), Adam Johnson (Manchester City £10m), Danny Rose (Tottenham, loan)

OUT

Marcos Angeleri (Estudiantes, undisclosed), Asamoah Gyan (Al-Ain, £6m), Michael Turner (Norwich, undisclosed), George McCartney (West Ham, undisclosed), Michael Liddle (Accrington, undisclosed), Jordan Cook (Charlton, free), Craig Gordon (released), Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull, loan), Kieran Richardson (Fulham, undisclosed)

SWANSEA                                                                                                                                           

IN

Michu (Rayo Vallecano, £2m), Jose Manuel Flores (Genoa, £2m), Jonathan de Guzman (Villarreal, loan), Kyle Bartley (Arsenal, £1m), Jamie Proctor (Preston, undisclosed), Pablo Hernandez (Valencia, £5.55m)

OUT

Joe Allen (Liverpool, £15m), Ferrie Bodde (released), Casey Thomas (released), Joe Walsh (released), Scott Donnelly (released), Andrea Orlandi (Brighton, free)

TOTTENHAM                                                                                                                                      

IN

Mousa Dembele (Fulham, £15m), Emmanuel Adebayor (Manchester City, £5m), Jan Vertonghen (Ajax, £10m), Gylfi Sigurdsson (Hoffenheim, £8m), Hugo Lloris (Lyon, £13m), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, £6m)

OUT

Sebastian Bassong (Norwich, undisclosed), Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow, £5m), Steven Pienaar (Everton, £4.5m), Niko Kranjcar (Dynamo Kiev, £2m), Ryan Nelsen (QPR, free), Ben Alnwick (Barnsley, free), Luka Modric (Real Madrid, £33m), Louis Saha (Sunderland, free), Bongani Khumalo (PAOK, loan), Massimo Luongo (Ipswich, loan), Ryan Fredericks (Brentford, loan), Danny Rose (Sunderland, loan), Giovani dos Santos (Real Mallorca, undisclosed), Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg, £10.2m)

WEST BROMWICH                                                                                                                           

IN

Ben Foster (Birmingham, undisclosed), Markus Rosenberg (Werder Bremen, free), Claudio Yacob (Racing Club de Avellaneda, free) Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea, loan), Yassine El Ghanassy (AA Gent, loan), Goran Popov (West Brom, loan)

OUT

Keith Andrews (Bolton, free), Joe Mattock (Sheffield Wednesday, free), Nicky Shorey (Reading, free), Marton Fulop (Astera Tripolis, free), Somen Tchoyi (released), Paul Scharner (released), Simon Cox (Nottingham Forest, undisclosed)

WEST HAM

IN

Matt Jarvis (Wolves, £10.75m), Modibo Maiga (Sochaux, £5m), Alou Diarra (Marseille, £2m), James Collins (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Stephen Henderson (Portsmouth, undisclosed), George McCartney (Sunderland, undisclosed), Raphael Spiegel (Grasshoppers, undisclosed) Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton, free), Mohamed Diame (Wigan, free), Andy Carroll (Liverpool, loan), Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea, loan)

OUT

Robert Green (QPR, free), Julien Faubert (Elazigspor, free), Frank Nouble (Wolves, free), Freddie Sears (Colchester, free), Abdoulaye Faye (Hull, free), John Carew (released), Papa Bouba Diop (released), Ravel Morrison (Birmingham, loan), Sam Baldock (Bristol City, undisclosed), Nicky Maynard (Cardiff, undisclosed)

WIGAN                                                                                                                                                  

IN

Arouna Kone (Levante, undisclosed), Ryo Miyaichi (Arsenal, loan), Ivan Ramis (Real Mallorca, undisclosed), Fraser Fyvie (Aberdeen, undisclosed)

OUT

Chris Kirkland (Sheffield Wednesday, free), Mohamed Diame (West Ham, free), Hugo Rodallega (Fulham, free), Hendry Thomas (released), Steve Gohouri (released), Jordan Robinson (released), Victor Moses (Chelsea, £9m)