Transfer Deadline Day: How It Happened

Posted on by The Gryphon Web Editor

19:30

And with that, we are sadly going to have to bring this to an end.

We shall be bringing you a round-up of all the transfer dealings at the end of the night, but for now, we have to bring this live blog to a close. It’s been fun.

Signing off,

Elliot van Barthold

19:27

Crystal Palace are leaving it late, as they always do.

Alex Sorloth is in the building to put pen to paper on a £9m deal from FC Midtjylland. The Danish club have found a replacement in Ohi Omoijuanfo, so both sides are now happy to confirm.

Ibrahima Amadou, from Lille, also seems to be in southeast London. West Ham were interested but it seems like Palace have won the race to sign the player initially on loan, with the potential for a permanent deal in the summer.

19:06

It’s certainly quietening down, which is to be expected with a close to full set of fixtures this evening.

One transfer still rumbling on, though, is the Dendoncker saga. The Anderlecht central midfielder had left training earlier for an “unknown destination” but has now returned to the main offices of Anderlecht. This is apparently because West Ham had their bid rejected. However, all is not lost Hammers fans, as the Belgian team expect another offer to come in soon.

Whether that will meet their valuation is another issue.

18:49

MAHREZ NOT IN LEICESTER SQUAD

The deal is still off but it could be a lonely 6 months for the Algerian. Hate to say I told you so..

16:57

BREAKING

Manchester City are giving up in their pursuit of Leciester’s Riyad Mahrez. Italian papers have reported that Leicester turned down a €70m bid from the Citizens, which they have decided is their final offer.

The question is, now, has Mahrez burnt his bridges at Leicester with his AWOL escapades? They go up against Everton at 19:45 and something tells me Mahrez will not be in the squad.

18:35

DONE DEAL

It’s been a long time coming, but Spurs have finally announced the signing of Lucas Moura for £25m from Paris Saint Germain. The Brazilian signs a four-and-a-half year deal, keeping him at the club till 2023.

His announcement comes with an unveiling video, too. Where do you think it ranks amongst the others we’ve had today? (Spoiler: not very high).

18:22

Down in the south of Wales, Swansea are busy filling out paperwork.

Andy King is on his way in to dot the i’s and cross the t’s, that’ll be a 6-month loan from Leicester.

Andre Ayew is at the training ground, finishing up his medical. We hearing that personal terms are agreed and it’s a matter of when not if.

Going out, Oli McBurnie is being linked with a loan move to Rangers, Sunderland and Barnsley. He’s a Rangers fan so the Gers have the advantage there.

18:15

DOUBLE DONE DEAL

Nottingham Forest have announced the signing of 2 players tonight, former Fulham player Ashkan Dejagah on a free, and Watford goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon on loan for the remainder of the season.

18:09

DONE DEAL

Some local news for you. Hull City have sealed a deal for Angus MacDonald from Barnsley for an undisclosed fee. He joins on a 2-and-a-half year deal with an option for a further year.

17:59

Daley Blind had been rumoured earlier in the day to be going on loan to AS Roma but according to Calcio Mercato, Daley Blind’s new agent, his father, has made negotiations difficult. It’s looking like this one won’t be happening.

17:52

DONE DEAL

Watford have announced Didier Ndong from Sunderland on a loan until the end of the season.

Didier Ndong: Sunderland -> Watford

17:47

Aleksander Mitrovic is in Belgium to complete his loan signing at Anderlecht. Newcastle fans won’t mind, however, as Slimani is almost certain to be a Newcastle player before the window shuts in just over 5 hours time.

17:40

We’ve hit a bit of a lull in proceedings, so shall we do a round-up?

Our big done deals of the day are:

Aubameyang: Borussia Dortmund -> Arsenal (£56m)

Giroud: Arsenal -> Chelsea (£18m)

Batshuayi: Chelsea -> Borussia Dortmund (loan)

Palmieri: AS Roma -> Chelsea (£17.6m)

Locally we’ve had:

Tyler Roberts: West Brom -> Leeds (£2m)

Matt Penney: Sheffield Wednesday -> Mansfield (loan)

We’re still waiting on a few more deals in the Premier League with Slimani, Sorloth, Hugill and Lucas Moura.

17:13

Michy Batshuayi clearly prepared to step up and fill Aubameyang’s boots.

17:08

News coming in that the sticking point for the Mahrez deal was the fee. Leicester wanted a deal worth up to £95m (!!) but City wouldn’t budge over their £60m valuation. I’d say that’s the best for all involved.

17:01

Update on Crystal Palace and Alexander Sorloth. FC Midtjylland are scrambling to get a replacement in before they give the green light for the deal to go through. Palace are hopeful of getting this one across the line.

16:57

BREAKING

Manchester City are giving up in their pursuit of Leciester’s Riyad Mahrez. Italian papers have reported that Leicester turned down a €70m bid from the Citizens, which they have decided is their final offer.

The question is, now, has Mahrez burnt his bridges at Leicester with his AWOL escapades? They go up against Everton at 19:45 and something tells me Mahrez will not be in the squad.

16:50

DONE DEAL X2

Chelsea confirm Giroud on an 18-month deal and Borussia Dortmund confirm the arrival of Batshuayi on loan till the end of the season. The transfer stand off is finally over. Phew.

 

16:42

NEW ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEO

Besiktas’ was good, Konyaspor’s better but have Braga S.C. just outdone both of them? I think so, check it out below:

16:22

Well, we weren’t sure earlier but it seems that Jordan Hugill is on his way to West Ham with the news that the Hammers have agreed an £8m fee with Preston.

16:18

Slimani deal is set to go ahead. There had been a worry that the thigh injury he had picked up is not as bad as first thought and he could make the bench weekend.

16:15

I told you the Dendoncker saga was going to run on. The Belgian, wanted by West Ham, has left training at Anderlecht for an “unknown destination”. Strap in, folks.

16:11

DONE DEAL

Isaac Success has gone on loan to Malaga from Watford where he’s not been that much of a.. success. (I’m not sorry.)

Success: Watford -> Malaga

16:01

7 HOURS TO GO

Fair few deals left to be done here. Mahrez still missing, reports of Slimani getting lost on his way to Newcastle’s medical centre, Mangala loan to Everton developing fast and still nothing official about Olivier Giroud.

And in Germany, there is just 1 HOUR left. That means that Michy Batshuayi needs to get his skates on and sign before the German equivalent of Big Ben strikes 1700 GMT.

15:56

Interesting bit of news coming in here.

The question is, where is Jordan Hugill off to?

West Ham, Crystal Palace, Leeds United and now QPR all interested.

15:48

Do we agree with this tweet from John Cross?

Part of me thinks they’ve just got a French version of Morata in.

15:35

Oh boy, this story is getting very juicy.

Riyad Mahrez has been reported as AWOL. The Algerian is subject of a £60m bid from Manchester City, and has put in a transfer request to try and force through the deal. He didn’t travel with the Leicester squad last night and has now not checked in ahead of the Everton match.

He has a history of this, famously leaving an international training camp to wait in an airport in Paris ahead of a move on the final day of the Summer Transfer Window.

Has a very Peter Odemwingie feel about it this one.

15:31

Andre Ayew is looking like he’s heading back to Swansea and pair up with his brother Jordan. WalesOnline.co.uk are reporting a deal in the region of “£18-20m” but are stalling over the inclusion of Ki Sung Yeung going the other way in the deal.

15:25

Crystal Palace are busy today.

They’re chasing Alexander Sorloth, of FC Midtjylland. The fee hasn’t quite been agreed but the player has left the Danish club’s training camp in Dubai to fly to England. Ekstra Bladet, a Danish newspaper, spoke with the Sporting Director of the FC Midtjylland who said that the club are “working very hard” and that the club is “very close to realising a unique opportunity”. We’ll be keeping a close eye on that one.

15:16

POWELL UPDATE

And it’s good news for Wigan fans. The club have rejected a 2nd bid from Brighton, which was only slightly higher than the reported £3m bid this morning. Big sign of ambition if Wigan hold on to this man for the rest of the season.

15:14

DONE DEAL

My fingers can’t keep up. Millwall have announced the signing of full-back Ben Marshall from Wolves on a loan till the end of the season. Good one, that.

Marshall: Wolves -> Millwall

15:10

DEAL OFF

Andy Lonergan better cancel that house viewing he had. Sunderland and Leeds have failed to agree terms on the move and it is OFF.

 

15:07

LONG DISTANT VIDEO OF AN AIRPLANE

Is it really Transfer Deadline Day if there’s not been at least one far away video of a player getting off a plane at a local airport? The answer is no, of course not, and Newcastle United have kindly supplied the goods this window. Have a look and see if you can spot Islam Slimani in the video below!

14:53

Ongoing rumour of the day: Ibrahima Amadou -> Crystal Palace

Mixed reports here but looks like Palace want to pay a loan fee of about £2m up front with the obligation to buy in the summer for £15m if the east London club avoid relegation.

14:42

Hearing some potentially massive news out of Manchester.

£60m bid now in for Mahrez. Ball is in Leicester’s court now.

14:30

We mentioned earlier that Everton were looking to loan out two players and we’ve had confirmation of one, in Sandro Ramirez. However, the Davy Klaasen to Napoli deal looks to be dead in the water. The dutchman is happy to stay and fight for his place in the team.

 

14:28

Elsewhere in the Championship, Cardiff City have agreed a £6m fee with Bolton Wanderers for frontman Gary Madine. Personal terms and medical still need to be completed before that 2300 GMT deadline.

14:25

Two bits of news here for our West Yorkshire teams:

West Ham and Crystal Palace have reportedly joined Leeds in the race for Preston’s Jordan Hugill. Palace are seen as favourites and West Ham are likely to be ahead of Leeds as well in Hugill’s preferences.

Joe Lolley, at Huddersfield, is attracting attention from the Championship with Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest rivalling each other for the central midfielder’s signature.

14:19

North of the border, Celtic have had their £375,000 offer for Northern Irish goalkeeper Trevor Carson turned down. Motherwell are not interested in selling. Where have we heard that before?

14:08

Part two of the transfer triangle is now set to be confirmed according to Bilel Ghazi, notable journalist at L’Equipe. Short-term deal for Olivier at the Bridge, fee of €20-22m.

14:00

DONE DEAL

Sandro Ramirez is another Evertonian who has struggled this season. His time is seemingly up with him going to Sevilla on loan for the rest of the season.

Sandro Ramirez -> Sevilla

13:54

More West Ham news. The Hammers are desperate for a central midfielder but have been repeatedly rejected by their targets. However, they may now have found one. Leon Dendoncker, the 22-year old Anderlecht midfielder, is on their radar.

We’re hearing that the player is interested but that Anderlecht want £20m. A valuation that West Ham have yet to meet. Expect this one to roll on till tonight.

13:41

We have one other deal to tell you about in the Championship with Jacob Davenport signing with Burton Albion on loan for the rest of the season. The 19-year old Manchester City youth prospect will be looking to sure up the midfield and help the Brewers’ in their efforts to stay in the league.

13:32

DONE DEAL

Well, this one has been coming. Leeds United have confirmed Tyler Roberts, signing on a £2.5m deal with a four-and-a-half deal keeping him at the club until 2022. Good one, that.

https://www.leedsunited.com/news/team-news/22954/leeds-complete-tyler-roberts-transfer

13:28

Wigan man Nick Powell is being chased by a few clubs today but the Latics are not looking to sell. They’re flying high in League 1 and losing a quality like Powell would be a big blow to their promotion bid. Could they be tempted with a big bid late on though?

13:25

Paul Lambert is a busy man this afternoon. Coming in, Badou Ndiaye is finalising a £15m move to the club from Galatasaray, just waiting on a work permit on that one. And going out, Geoff Cameron is being chased by Crystal Palace. Long way to go there, however.

13:19

So we’ve had Konyaspor’s fantastic unveiling video of Samuel Eto’o below, but does it match Besiktas’ bizarre effort from a couple of days ago?

13:13

Well, Deadline Day has so far brought us some big deals and a few surprises. You get the feeling there’ll be a few more yet to come.

How are your team looking ahead of the deadline? Who do you want to sneak in before that window gets slammed shut by someone at the FA? Leave a comment below or give us a tweet over at @TheGryphonLeeds.

12:56

Deadline Day is now becoming renowned for producing some of the most bizarre signing announcement videos. It looks like today will be no exception, with Konyaspor producing this for their signing of legend Samuel Eto’o.

12:48

Looks like Mahrez won’t be off to Fleetwood…

12:36

So far 33% of you think Mahrez will be the next big signing to be announced. However nothing has changed there yet, with Leicester still not intending to sell. However it would be a big giveaway that he’s heading to Manchester City if he’s not included in the Leicester squad against Everton tonight…

12:17

BREAKING

More good news for Arsenal fans! Mesut Ozil has signed a new three and a half deal with Arsenal! The midfielder will become the highest paid player in the club’s history – earning around £350,000 per week.

12:07

News from South Yorkshire, and Doncaster have received defender Tom Anderson on loan from Burnley.

11:54

The Gryphon sources are telling us that Lucas Moura’s medical is well underway. The deal would take the Brazilian winger to Wembley for £25m. A good deal, Spurs fans?

11:51

You can join in the fun on Twitter too, we’re running a poll on who you think will be the next biggest signing today after the Aubameyang excitement this morning.

11:42

Let’s have a look around West Yorkshire shall we?

Huddersfield look to have sorted their business earlier on in this window, bringing in Monaco CB Terence Kongolo on loan and Norwich winger Alex Pritchard for a £5m fee.

Leeds are close to sealing young striker Tyler Roberts from West Brom, just waiting for confirmation on that one. Andy Lonergan is also close to a move, looking set to join Sunderland on an 18-month deal today. There’s also chatter that Jordan Hugill, from Preston, is subject of an offer. However, with Roberts looking done, this one is unlikely.

11:28

A lot of Premier League teams seem to be involved in loan deals, normal course of action in January.

The ones we are hearing are that Everton’s Davy Klaasen is on his way to Napoli after failing to settle since his summer move and Muhammed Besic is off to Championship Middlesborough till the end of the season. West Ham’s Andre Ayew is being linked with a move to join up with his brother, Jordan, at Swansea too.

11:20

*ALMOST* DONE DEAL

We told you earlier today that West Ham were looking at Islam Slimani. Well, it looks like they’ve been pipped to him by Newcastle. The Algerian will be a perfect fit for Rafa.

11:15

DONE DEAL

AUBAMEYANG SIGNS! It’s the big one! Arsenal have confirmed the signing of the striker from Borussia Dortmund for £56m – a club record fee for the North London team.

11:12

Aubameyang news! Borussia Dortmund have released a statement, agreeing to sell the striker to Arsenal for £56m

11:04

Here’s a quick update on the Batshuayi/Giroud/Aubameyang situation: Borussia Dortmund have agreed to sign Batshuayi on loan, which will surely open to way for Giroud to Chelsea and Aubameyang to Arsenal.

It’s worth bearing in mind that the German transfer window shuts at 17:00 GMT today, so Batshuayi will have to be done by then.

10:45

Our first signing of the day has gone through! Matt Penney, left-back for Sheffield Wednesday, has gone on loan to Mansfield. It may not be a big-name transfer but it gets deadline day under way.

09:47

Talking Algerians, the latest to come out of the Olympic Stadium today is that West Ham want Islam Slimani on loan. Hammers fans, is that a good replacement for the injured Carroll?

09:40

What other big news have we got? Well, last night Manchester City launched a late raid on Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez, rumoured to have put in a £50m bid. However, that got turned down with Leicester slapping (is there any other way?) a £70m price tag on the Algerian’s head.

09:27

So who are our big movers today? Well, unless you’ve been living under a rock, everyone has heard of the awkward love triangle that Giroud, Batshuayi and Aubameyang have found themselves in. Olivier Giroud came on for Arsenal last night in their 3-1 loss at Swansea but that means little as his move is only across London to PL rivals Chelsea. Aubameyang arrived to London Colney – Arsenal’s training ground – last night and has been twiddling his thumbs ever since. You have to presume that someone at Arsenal quickly turned the tele off after that 3rd goal went in last night.. And as for Batshuayi, well this is the lastest we’ve heard from our Belgian correspondent, Kristof Terreur, this morning:

09:20

Good Morning! Welcome to The Gryphon’s LIVE Transfer Deadline Day blog, we will be your captain today guiding you through the murky waters of today’s transfer dealings.

We’ll be covering all the major deals happening across Europe, and following our Yorkshire clubs closely to see what magic they can pull out of the bag on the final day. So with no further ado, let’s begin!