Deadline Day gossip: Relive it. Re-love it

Matt Stead

WINDOW HAS CLOSED AND THAT. READ WHAT HAPPENED BELOW, THEN FORGET THAT YOU EVER DREAMT YOUR CLUB WOULD DO MORE. GO HERE FOR THE FULL LIST OF TRANSFERS.

 

22.45: VAN GINKEL TO PSV
Chelsea’s Marco van Ginkel will join PSV on loan until the end of the season. That comes after Stoke signed Imbula, meaning they cancelled the midfielder’s loan deal. He was going to be a bloody star, too. Shame.

 

22.35: IMBULA TO STOKE IS DONE
Stoke City have spent more money on a player than any other club in Europe during the January transfer window. Which is bloody weird.

He will cost the club £18.3m, which has smashed their record transfer fee. Not in a Richard Keys way.

 

 

22.24: JORDI GOMEZ JOINS BLACKBURN ON LOAN
The Jordi’s no longer a Mackem. Loan deal until the end of the season. Been on the cards all afternoon.

 

22.19: BENALOUANE TO FIORENTINA
Another story we mentioned earlier, and Yohan Benalouane has joined Fiorentina on loan from Leicester. They have let two defenders leave during this window, which is surprising. Still, that £6m spent on Benalouane went well.

 

22.04: WE SUDDENLY FEEL A BIT SORRY FOR SAIDO
Left on the shelf again, kept by the nasty men. It’s a bloody shame that a year of his career has effectively been wasted by West Brom’s complete refusal to sell.

 

21.59: FER TO SWANSEA ON LOAN
It’s a move we talked about briefly earlier, and news now from Swansea who confirm the signing of Leroy Fer on loan from QPR.

Only problem Swansea have now is that Fer has been relegated in each of his last two season. Alrite Nigel Quashie.

 

21.40: RITCHIE DE LAET JOINS MIDDLESBROUGH ON LOAN
Middlesbrough are really going for promotion. And they’ll get it, too.

 

21.38: NICK POWELL JOINS HULL ON LOAN
Wonder if Van Gaal regrets all that Champions League business.

He looks more and more like a Coronation Street character every day.

 

21.23: UPDATE
There is a distinct lack of news now, as we wait for deals to be announced. Stick with us for those updates but, for now, the rumours have stopped. Until tomorrow, of course.

 

21.06: YAYA SANOGO JOINS CHARLTON ON LOAN
When you look at the form of Benik Afobe, and you see what is happening to Sanogo, it’s difficult to believe that Arsenal kept faith with the latter rather than the former.

Sanogo has now joined Charlton on loan until the end of the season, having cut short his deal at Ajax. He never scored for the Dutch side, either at first-team or reserve level. Urgh.

 

20.49: EVERTON COMPLETE NIASSE DEAL
Well, well, it’s actually warming up a bit. Hot on the heels of the Rhodes signing, Everton have announced the completion of a £13.5m deal for Oumar Niasse.

We never thought we would see the day when Romelu Lukaku had decent back-up, but it is a fair whack of money. Roberto Martinez wanted to bring someone in, and they’ve done exactly that.

 

20.46: JORDAN RHODES COMPLETES MOVE TO MIDDLESBROUGH
It’s been on and off more times than we would care to remember, but Jordan Rhodes has finally left Blackburn to sign for Middlesbrough. There is no mention of the fee.

‘The club is delighted to confirm the arrival of Jordan Rhodes from Blackburn Rovers,’ the club’s website reads.

‘The 25-year-old striker has signed a four-and-a-half year contract with the club after joining from Ewood Park for an undisclosed fee. The Scotland international arrives as one of the most prolific goalscorers to have graced the Football League in recent years having enjoyed successful spells with both Huddersfield Town and Blackburn.

‘He scored 87 goals in 148 appearances during a three-year stint at Huddersfield, prompting Blackburn to splash out £8m for his services in August 2012.

‘The Scotland international hit 28 in his first season in the Championship with Blackburn and scored 85 goals in 169 appearances for the Ewood Park club. Rhodes has scored 11 goals this season, including a run of seven in five games earlier in the season.’

 

20.35: DEBUCHY JOINS BORDEAUX ON LOAN
We were expecting a deal to be completed at some point this evening, but Mathieu Debuchy’s loan move to Bordeaux has now been confirmed. We’re struggling to imagine a speedier fall from grace.

Debuchy will join the Ligue Un club until the end of the season, although it’s unclear whether the loan deal contains an option to buy.

 

20.22: WATFORD SIGN ANOTHER PLAYER
That makes it 21 players arriving at the club since the end of last season. That’s a lot and lot and lot of players. 

Penaranda joins from Udinese, who are owned by the Pozo family. He has been on loan at Granada, who are owned by the Pozzo family. Murky as you like.

Update: Penaranda has been loaned to Granada. Of course he bloody has.

 

20.17: JORDI GOMEZ ON LOAN
Sunderland look to be the busiest Premier League club during this transfer window, and they’re allowing another player to leave on loan. The Chronicle is reporting that Jordi Gomez will join Championship Blackburn, where he’ll look handsome in central midfield.

 

20.07: WE LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE STEVEN FLETCHER PLAYS FOR MARSEILLE
Not quite sure where this has come from, or which videos of Fletcher Marseille have been watching, but he’s now a Ligue Un player.

The deal is a loan until the end of the season, but Fletcher’s contract is up in six months. If he does well then he’ll sign permanently. God we hope he does well.

 

20.04: LIVERPOOL TO MOVE FOR MADDISON… IN THE SUMMER
Coventry’s James Maddison is a little star, but we can’t help feeling sad that we’re already talking about summer transfers. It’s like we’ve given up on the January window. Sob, sob.

In the Daily Express, Paul Joyce reports Liverpool interest in Maddison. Joyce is pretty hot on all things Liverpool.

Joyce also reports interest from Tottenham, because they haven’t got enough excellent young players.

 

19.58: ANOTHER BERAHINO OFFER REJECTED?
We’re struggling to keep up with the Berahino news, largely because everybody keeps saying that Newcastle have made further bids, without anyone in the North East reporting the story.

Anyway, several outlets are saying that Newcastle made a bid of £24m for the striker, which has been rejected by West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace. Assuming that a new bid did come, and not simply the £21m bid from earlier, that’s a massive call from Peace.

 

19.41: LITTLE ROUND-UP TIME
– Jordan Rhodes in Middlesbrough for his medical
– Giannelli Imbula having his medical at Stoke
– Omar Niasse supposedly joining Everton, but has gone pretty quiet
– Steven Fletcher having medical with Marseille
– Mathieu Debuchy could leave for Bordeaux
– Leicester want a striker. Loic Remy? Mame Biram Diouf?
– Chelsea trying to find Radamel Falcao a club. Why, when he isn’t theirs?

 

19.27: SWANSEA TO SET THE WORLD ON FER
Doesn’t really work, but it’s there anyway. Swansea are hoping to clinch the signing of central midfielder Leroy Fer, who we’d sort of forgotten is still at QPR in the Championship.

Fer is one of several players QPR have been trying to move on. He agreed a loan move to Sunderland in the summer but reportedly failed the medical.

He also scored at the 2014 World Cup in a win over Chile, which must feel a sodding long time ago now.

 

19.11: VAN GINKEL TO PSV
That’s the word according to Michiel Jongsma, nice man and knowledgeable on Dutch football.

The logic is clear: Stoke sign Imbula, so have no need for Van Ginkel. Chelsea recall him, and then send him to PSV.

 

18.58: GOMIS DEAL BACK ON?
That’s according to the Daily Mirror, passed on by the Daily Express. They say that Newcastle could go back in for Bafetimbi Gomis, with their Saido Berahino deal dead in the water.

Perhaps I’m wrong, but feels like Newcastle have finished their business for the day. Can’t see them buying two strikers on deadline day.

 

18.45: FALCAO LEAVING CHELSEA?
It would certainly mean that Loic Remy has to stay put, but there are growing murmurs about Radamel Falcao negotiating an exit from Chelsea, with the striker in Spain. Both Valencia and Atletico Madrid have been mentioned – the latter is far more likely.

Can’t help thinking it would have been best to sort this out earlier on in the window (or even day), and therefore it’s all just talk. Still…

 

18.36: WATFORD SIGN DOUCOURE
Proper news. Actual news. Real news. News. We told you earlier that Watford were hoping to break their transfer record (again) to sign Abdoulaye Doucoure from Rennes, and they’ve done exactly that. There’s no club quite like Watford this season for getting signings over the line.

Doucoure will cost £8m and he is a central midfielder. Poor Ben Watson’s going to lose his place, isn’t he?

 

18.31: CHAMPIONS LEAGUE’S NICK POWELL TO JOIN HULL
He may be most famous for somehow meriting selection off the bench by Louis van Gaal in their crucial Champions League tie with Wolfsburg, but Nick Powell is set to be loaned to the Championship.

The Daily Mail report that Hull are close to signing him on loan until the end of the season.

And yes, that has gone in the headline above. It’s been that sort of day.

 

18.24: PREMIER LEAGUE COMPLETED DEAL!!
It’s finally happened. Over three hours into my nine-hour shift and the first player has been signed by a Premier League club. The player in question in Rhoys Wiggins, and the club is Bournemouth.

We are massive fans of the ‘Together, anything is possible’ inspirational quote.

Slightly weird deal, actually, given that Wiggins was twice on loan at Bournemouth but was sold when the club were in League One. Surely at best he’s back-up for the first team?

 

18.11: ASK A SIMPLE QUESTION…
No, they won’t. Happy to help. And what’s more, you know they won’t either.

 

18.06 SERGE GNABRY OUT ON LOAN
A timely reminder from Jeremy Wilson that the loan window for Football League clubs stays open after tonight. Serge Gnabry struggled for any minutes at West Brom, but will be sent to the Championship to pick up some more. Can think of a few clubs who would appreciate the chance to sign him.

 

17.46: OR, IT’S DIOUF THAT LEICESTER WANT
Same media outlet, same club, completely different rumour. Leicester City are reportedly considering a move for Stoke striker Mama Biram Diouf. According to Sky Sports (but not Rob Dorsett?), Diouf has emerged as a target for City as they look to bring in a striker before the end of the transfer deadline tonight.

Want both, get neither? That’s the January 2016 way.

 

17.41: REMY TO LEICESTER BACK ON
That’s according to Sky Sports’ Rob Dorsett, who says that a failure to land Ahmed Musa means that Leicester will return to their original target. The idea is that they sort out a loan deal for Remy with an obligation to buy at the end of the season.

 

17.37: IMBULA DEAL CLOSE TO COMPLETION
Stoke City look to be the only notable movers on deadline day, and their signing of Giannelli Imbula is close to completion. The Daily Mail say that a deal worth £18.2m will be completed soon, smashing the club’s transfer record.

Imbula will fill the hole left by the departure of Steven N’Zonzi for Sevilla, but the pressure will surely be on the defensive midfielder to settle quickly, given the price tag. Still, fair play to Stoke for the ambition.

 

17.33: ALFEI LEAVES SWANSEA
You might scoff at the size or importance of the deal, but it’s my second one in 2.5 hours, so let me have it. Swansea defender Daniel Alfei has joined Mansfield on loan.

Alfei played his only league game for the club in 2010/11, and has since played for Wrexham, Portsmouth and Northampton on loan. He’s now going back to League Two.

 

17.25: WATFORD TO SIGN DOUCOURE
According to the Daily Mirror, Watford are ready to break their club record transfer for Rennes midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure. The transfer fee is to be around £8million.

Watford are trying to set a world record for the most times a club transfer record has been broken in one season. It was last set by Tottenham in summer 2014.

 

17.14: SANOGO ON LOAN TO CHARLTON?
Charlton and Arsenal have always been quite cozy. Alex Song went there, you may remember, as did Francis Coquelin. Now it looks like Yaya Sanogo might be the next loanee off to the Valley.

Sanogo is currently on loan to Ajax’s youth team, although presumably that would be ended. We’ll keep an eye on it.

 

17.10: BORO TO SIGN DE LAET ON LOAN?
Middlesbrough are closing in on a deal for Leicester City right-back Ritchie De Laet on loan, according to the Teeside Gazette.

De Laet is not first choice at Leicester, but it would still be fairly surprising if the Premier League leaders let anyone go now. Nobody wants an injury crisis to damage their top-four bid.

 

17.06: DWIGHT GAYLE SET TO SIGN FOR…. ERM, PALACE
We have sent most of the day wondering if Dwight Gayle will move to Swansea or A N Other club, but The Sun’s Charlie Wyett reckons that he is instead going to sign a new contract at Crystal Palace. Another one to cross of the ‘maybe’ list.

 

17.03: SHERINGHAM LEAVES STEVENAGE
One member of England’s World Cup ’98 squad is suffering managerial heartache in Spain, and another one closer to home has bitten the bullet. Teddy Sheringham has been sacked by Stevenage after a pretty dreadful run of form.

 

17.00: SIX HOURS LEFT. AND BOOOOOOOOOOO
I mean something will happen tonight. But it might just be Stoke signing Imbula and me eating leftover Paella.

 

16.57: GRAHAM DORRANS HEADING TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP…
…which an unfair soul may remark is exactly where he belongs. Burnley and Middlesbrough are both trying to sign the midfielder on loan. It doesn’t get much more uninspiring than that.

 

16.51: THERE IS A LIGHT THAT BURNS OUT
Thought we had a deal brewing, did you? Naaah.

 

 

16.43: EDER LEAVES SWANSEA FOR LILLE
I’ve been sat in this chair for 104 minutes of Deadline Day, and I finally have a Premier League deal. Striker Eder is leaving Swansea on loan to go to Lille. He only joined the club last summer for £5million, which absolutely stinks. He started two league games, and never scored a goal.

 

16.41: UPDATE ON THE DEADLINE DAY SAVIOUR

 

16.39: UNITED WANT FORMER CITY RIGHT-BACK?
So say the Daily Mail, who are clutching at straws a bit here. They claim that Untied have been offered Omar Elabdellaoui by Olympiakos, a loan deal with an obligation to buy.

Elabdellaoui was at Manchester City as a youngster, but he’s now 24. As we’ve said about 1,427 time during this window, we’ll be very surprised.

 

16.34: STEVE MCCLAREN CHATTING ABOUT DOUMBIA
“A lot of the burden has been placed on them [Perez and Mitrovic],” McClaren told Newcastle’s official website.
“Mitro has had ankle problems but has never missed a day’s training and has played through it. He’s been fantastic for us, as has Ayoze.It’s easy to forget how young they are and how they are still learning the game and developing.

“We needed someone with a bit more experience in there as we’ve fallen short in that department. Hopefully Seydou can come in and make his mark at this club over the next few months and help us get some wins.”

Can he play in defence?

 

16.20: BORDEAUX CONFIRM DEBUCHY TALKS
Mathieu Debuchy’s loan move was meant to be one of the day’s more interesting stories, with numerous Premier League suitors. That looks to have been shot down in flames. We brought you news earlier that Bordeaux had stealthily sorted out a deal for the right-back, and now the club’s president has confirmed talks.

Jean Louis Triaud, the club president, told reporters: “I do not confirm the arrival of Mathieu Debuchy but it is a possibility we are exploring and are hoping for.”

FFS.

 

16.05: PREMIER LEAGUE LEADERS TO LET DEFENDER LEAVE
Goodness, it does sound very strange typing that about Leicester.

Anyway, the defender in question is Yohan Benalouane, who has only been at the club five minutes. The Daily Mirror reckon he’s off to Fiorentina on loan, with the Serie A club happy to pay a £300,000 loan fee.

Leicester paid £6m for him?!

 

16:01: JORDAN RHODES DEAL BACK ON? FOR £13M!!
That’s the talk coming out of Middlesbrough. It would be a pretty special kind of hokey-cokey, given that Boro reportedly pulled out of a deal yesterday. It would also be a massive statement of intent from the club, and equate to a sizeable gamble on promotion. Why not, eh?

 

15.50: ALEX MCCARTHY TO LEAVE PALACE?
That’s the story according to Alan Pardew, which comes as something of a surprise.

“McCarthy’s a great goalie and we want to get him up to speed and get him back playing his best football, so he needs game time,” Pardew said. “I took that option, rather than Jules (Speroni) going out, because Jules is Palace through and through and I want him around in case anything happens to Wayne.

“We bought him here, and he started the season, the (£3.5million) fee we paid, probably thinking that he was going to be our No 1. It didn’t quite work out, Wayne’s come in and grabbed his chance, so it’s only fair on him.

“I don’t want to say the club, because it might be unfair, there’s two clubs involved. (Recruiting a replacment is) another option that we’re considering. I’m not going to confirm any names.”

Told you.

 

15.44: BAYERN TO TAKE ON CHELSEA FOR PLAYER WE’VE HARDLY HEARD OF
‘Bayern Munich are preparing to hijack Chelsea’s plans to sign Bologna midfielder Amadou Diawara, Sky sources understand,’ reads the tweet from Sky Sports. ‘It is understood the Blues are very interested in Diawara and were keen on a deal to sign him in the summer.’

Diawara has apparently played very well indeed for Bologna this season, but I haven’t seen much of them. Still, this was all a deal for the summer, so don’t get too excited.

 

15.32: NEWCASTLE IN ENRIQUE TALKS
When all has gone wrong, and your world has fallen down around you, go back to the start. It sounds like a flimsy Coldplay lyric, but could also be the motto by which Jose Enrique is living.

The Daily Mirror say that Enrique is in talks over a return to Newcastle, several years after leaving for Liverpool. Having fallen completely out of favour at Anfield under Brendan Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp, a move makes sense. With Newcastle in desperate need of a left-back (sorry Paul Dummett), it’s a move that is logical for all parties. Actual news?

 

15.24: ARSENAL TO SIGN A CHILEAN MINOR?
The pun is awful, and the news isn’t much more exciting. The agent of Marcelo Allende says that he will talk to Arsenal about a possible deal. Allende is 16 and Chilean, and plays for Cobreloa.

“I have a relationship with many European clubs including Arsenal and, another club, so if tomorrow there are options, we’ll talk,” his agent Christian Ogalde said. “Arsenal is a great training club and we would be interested in working with them if they give us the possibility to.”

 

Rough translation: I’d like my player to move to Arsenal, but they haven’t shown any interest yet.

 

15.20: MORE ON NEW AYOZE PEREZ DEAL
Newcastle may have signed plenty of players this January, but supporters will be mighty pleased to learn that one of their existing squad is staying put.

“It’s a special day for me, a big day for me,” says Ayoze Perez. “The truth is I’m really happy here, so it’s a good thing for me — and I hope it’s the same for the Geordie family. Newcastle gave me everything and I’m really pleased to sign this new contract.”

Steve McClaren’s happy, too:

“I am delighted that Ayoze has signed a new deal. He is a very good player with huge potential and someone we believe has a very big future at Newcastle United. We are building this Club for the long-term and Ayoze is a very important part of that.”

 

15.17: FLORIAN THAUVIN MIGHT NOT FEEL THAT WELCOME AT MARSEILLE
Florian Thauvin has completed a loan move from Newcastle to Marseille, but shouldn’t get too relaxed in his new location.

Ouch.

 

15.05: THE TELEGRAPH ARE GETTING DESPERATE

I’ll give you one million pounds if this happens. Deal?

 

15.04: CHANGE IN HOTSEAT. AND HUGHES ON IMBULA

 

14.44: STOKE TO BREAK BANK
It looks very much like the biggest move on transfer deadline day (actually, the whole window) will be Giannelli Imbula from Porto to Stoke for £18.2m. That would be a new club record. Imbula is a France Under-21 central midfielder who could yet declare for Belgium, where he was born. It is a whole lot of money for a player who cannot get close to the first team at Porto, starting only one league game since October. He only joined Porto last summer for £14m so this would be a lovely bit of business from the Portuguese club. As usual.

 

14.37: BERAHINO IS SORE
We have to applaud Tony Pulis for sending Dave Kemp out to do pre-match press duties rather than answer a(nother) million questions about Saido Berahino. And what did Kemp say?

“He’s been in this morning. He’s got a bit of a knock. But he’s in the squad for tomorrow’s game. I’m expecting him to be here. The chairman deals with that side. It was awkward today, he has a dead leg he picked up on Saturday. He came out, he’s a bit sore, and he’s gone home. With the media around that’s probably the best thing to do.”

The word coming out of the club is that Berahino will be going nowhere in this window.

A reminder: For all the hype, nobody has spent a penny so far today. The only deals to have gone through are loans.

 

14.35: PEREZ STAYING PUT
Ayoze Perez has signed a new long-term deal with Newcastle. Or, as the Metro will put it ‘Man United blow as brilliant striker signs on’. Or something.

 

14.00: KLOPP SAYS NEIN
“I don’t think something will happen in terms of incomings,” says the Liverpool manager. So we can all stop dreaming of Alex Teixeira. So that’s no incomings for Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool…are we going to see an incoming transfer for a big club today? We suspect not. Dwight Gayle for Leicester? Is that still a thing?

 

13:45: ACTUAL DONE DEALS
Sorry about that. Pep Guardiola (and lunch) happened. So Seydou Doumbia has joined Newcastle on loan from Roma and Alex Pritchard has joined West Brom on loan from Tottenham – only five hours after the BBC told us it was a DONE DEAL.

Other things possibly on the horizon: Steven Fletcher to Marseille, Rob Green to Crystal Palace, Nick Powell to Hull (has this really not happened yet?), Giannelli Imbula to Stoke for an obscene amount of money.

 

12:52: DEBUCHY AND IMBULA UPDATES
Just under two hours ago we brought you news on Manchester United’s interest in Arsenal right-back Mathieu Debuchy. Well now we have more. According to French newspaper L’Equipe, Ligue Un club Bordeaux have stealthily agreed a loan deal with Debuchy, with the Frenchman joining until June. Poor United will be devastated. Poor Aston Villa actually might be.

Elsewhere, the Giannelli Imbula to Stoke stuff is raging on. The deal looked to be dead over the weekend, but numerous outlets are now reporting that Stoke have agreed an £18.2million(!) fee for the midfielder. Mental.

 

12.44: ANOTHER TEIXEIRA BIDDER

Nope.

 

12.22: ICARDI TO LIVERPOOL
Forget Alex Teixeira, Liverpool have identified a new forward with just hours of the transfer window remaining. According to reports in Italy, they are set to offer £19million for Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi. They should probably hurry up. The claim, from the eminently trustworthy Sport Mediaset, is that Icardi, 22, has fallen out with manager Roberto Mancini, who is now willing to sell his former captain. Quite where Liverpool come into this is anyone’s guess.

 

11.58: £10m FOR RICHARDS? £3m FOR SINCLAIR?
Time to bring you two transfer updates in one, because we’re growing increasingly lazy.

First, The Sun are reporting that Aston Villa are demanding £10million from Sunderland for centre-half Micah Ricards. Everything about that story is magnificent, from Sunderland thinking they can sign one of the better players from one of their relegation rivals, to Villa saying, ‘alright then, that’ll be £10million or f**k off’.

Secondly, most outlets are claiming that Liverpool have turned down a £3million bid from Watford for Jerome Sinclair. They want to use him as a ‘makeweight’ in other deals, or hopefully get a higher price for him, according to Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail.

 

11.21: BERAHINO. AGAIN
You didn’t think we were done with Saido Berahino, did you? John Cross of the Daily Mirror certainly isn’t. The claim is that Newcastle have now offered £24million in ‘straight cash’ for the 22-year-old striker. Bids of £18million and £21million have already been rejected, but Toon are ‘determined to test West Brom’s resolve’.

Elsewhere, Rob Green is joining Crystal Palace from QPR. Obviously.

 

11.11: DOUMBIA DONE

 

11.07: WHAT’S THE MATA?
Haha, great headline that. Cheers guys.

According to Adam Crafton of the Daily Mail: ‘Barcelona are giving consideration to a summer move for Manchester United playmaker Juan Mata.’

Now, these reports surfaced on Monday morning courtesy of Spanish website Don Balon, but this is a Sportsmail special; there are no ‘Spanish reports’ involved. ‘Initial contact’ has apparently been made between the clubs. Which seems a bit late, really. Still, we go on. Crafton adds that Mata is ‘happy’ at Old Trafford, but he ‘harbours private concerns’ at the club. Why? You bloody know why. The ‘long-term direction of the club’, which basically means ‘how long is Louis van Gaal staying for?’

It’s not going to happen, is it? Mata won’t want to leave United, United probably don’t want to sell him – would they recoup all of their £37million outlay on the 27-year-old? – and Barcelona probably don’t even want him. Where would he play?

 

11.04: DEBUCHY UPDATE
Well, this is delightful. If you thought Aston Villa and Sunderland were the only Premier League teams interested in Mathieu Debuchy, you were wrong. The Daily Mail tell us that Manchester United want the Frenchman. Kieran Gill is the man in the know, and the claims that United are growing increasingly desperate to sign a full-back, and that they could explore a deal for the Arsenal man. Not. A. Chance.

 

10.33: ROBINHO BACK TO THE PREM
Robinho loves a transfer deadline day, doesn’t he? We documented the Brazilian’s move to Manchester City in 2008 in detail here, but it seems that he wishes to return to England.

According to Simon Jones of the Daily Mail, Robinho’s representatives have contacted Leicester and Swansea to see if they are interested. The 32-year-old is a free agent after leaving Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande. Juventus are also ‘in the mix’.

 

10.22: ARSENAL IN FOR AUBA
Some outlets are already bored with transfer deadline day. Enough with February 1, let’s look ahead to the summer transfer window. Because that’s the actual sport, you see?

According to Rob Draper of the Daily Mail, Arsenal are not looking to make any more signings ahead of the 11pm deadline. That’s fine. Lovely. But Draper has news of the club’s targets in the summer. Draper reports that Arsenal’s ‘ideal target’ then would be Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The problem is that his contract runs for another four years, while Dortmund have no inclination to sell their best player. Draper claims Arsenal’s opening offer would have to approach the £50million mark to ‘even start negotations’.

Not only Aubameyang, but a move for Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder Granit Xhaka will be revisited. Or, rather, Arsenal are likely to make ‘another inquiry’ as to his availability. Transfer deadline day is dead, long live the summer transfer window.

 

10.06: HORNETS BUZZING
Watford have agreed an £8million bid with Rennes for their midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure, according to widespread reports. By our calculations, this will be the 427th time that Watford have broken their transfer record since being promoted. Frenchman Doucoure, 23, will head to the UK for a medical.

 

09.46: GIBBS TO NEWCASTLE
According to Jack Gaughan of the Daily Mail, Newcastle are set to have a busy day. Not only will they press ahead with their move for a striker, with Saido Berahino and Seydou Doumbia of Roma in the frame, but they want a left-back. They want Kieran Gibbs. The move would only happen if Arsenal find sufficient cover for Nacho Monreal. Which they won’t. They only want Lionel Messi. Sorry, Toon fans, but it’s a no go.

 

09.32: STOKE GO CRAZY
Stoke have bid £20million for one player already in the past two days – you can read about that below – but will they break their club-record transfer fee? That remains the £12million paid to Inter Milan for Xherdan Shaqiri in the summer. John Percy of the Telegraph believes that Giannelli Imbula, the Porto midfielder, is next on their list. A £14.5million bid has been submitted. The 23-year-old is considered the ideal replacement for Steven Nzonzi, who left in the summer.

 

09.01: BERAHINO STAYING PUT?
It’s the name at the top of every website’s desperate ‘ten deals that could go through today’ features, but it looks increasingly like Saido Berahino will stay at West Brom until the summer. Neil Ashton of the Daily Mail is reporting that Spurs ‘are convinced they can get him on the cheap at the end of the season’ and will not get into a bidding war with Stoke and Newcastle that could see them paying over £20m for a striker who has barely played this season. Another deadline day could come and go with Berahino still a West Brom player.

 

08.51: FLETCHER TO, ERM, OM
There’s been plenty of talk about Peter Odemwingie (the star of one deadline day, at least) joining Marseille on loan from Stoke, but reports in France are suggesting another Premier League striker could join the French club on loan. Step forward, Sunderland’s Steven Fletcher. #tetesgone.

 

08.45: RAVEL BACK IN ENGLAND (WELL, ALMOST)
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, former Manchester United and West Ham bad boy could be heading back for another chance in the Premier League. His destination could be Swansea City. It certainly looks like his spell at Lazio could be coming to an end; he has played 51 minutes of Serie A football this season. File under ‘that went well’.

 

08.40: STOKE MOVE FOR BATSHUAYI
It seems that Stoke may have just spotted that they don’t have a very good actual striker to play alongside their very good assortment of attacking midfielders. So along with chasing Saido Berahino (see below), they have apparently made a big-money offer for Michu Batshuayi. This according to L’Equipe, who seem pretty unconvinced that this will happen, what with the Belgian having not long since signed a new contract with OM. Oh, and the whole ‘could probably do a whole lot better than Stoke’ thing.

 

TUG OF WAR FOR SAIDO
Time is running out for Saido Berahino to find a new home. He has until 11pm on Monday. Let’s hope he promises to never play Jeremy Peace again at some point.

The news on Berahino is that three clubs want him. Newcastle, who had a club-record £21million bid rejected on Sunday, Tottenham, who have long held an interest in the 22-year-old, and Stoke, who have been tentatively linked but have now joined the fray as the hours close in. The Daily Mirror are one of many reporting that the three will be central to a ‘£25million tug of war’ for the West Brom striker.

John Cross and James Nursey team up to provide us with the details. Newcastle are ‘willing to go to £25million’, Stoke have made an offer ‘in excess of £21million’, but Berahino wants his Tottenham move. We imagine this will go all the way up to the deadline.

 

TEIXEIRA TALK
You want some more Alex Teixeira news, don’t you? Well there isn’t any. Not really. Not unless you’re Sky Sports News HQ, and are desperately trying to build up the excitement surrounding Jim White Day. The following is from their transfer centre:

‘Liverpool have made their intentions to sign Alex Teixera (sic) pretty clear this window but the deal seemed to have hit the buffers regarding the transfer fee. Shakhtar Donetsk wanted £38 million but Liverpool offered £25 million.

‘It’s notoriously difficult to buy players from Ukraine in the January window but our reporter Kaveh Solhekol has just reported a deal COULD still be negotiated today. Watch this space…’

A deal certainly ‘COULD‘ be negotiated today. Liverpool just have to offer the amount that Shakhtar want. Literally nothing has changed in that respect.

Watch this space, people…

 

DENIS THE MENACE
Will Teixeira be the only player supposedly spotted around Liverpool on transfer deadline day? According to the Daily Mirror, featuring claims from Spain, they could renew interest in Denis Cheryshev of Real Madrid.

It seems that the link has resurfaced due to quotes made by head coach Zinedine Zidane at the weekend: “We’ll see tomorrow but yes, Cheryshev could leave. He’s a great player but he needs to be playing regularly. The most important thing for him is that he gets minutes. He is a hard-working player and he needs to be building up playing time. I wish him the best. If he has the chance to leave, I’d be delighted for him. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Spanish radio station Cadena COPE believe Liverpool are interested. There doesn’t seem to be anything concrete here, aside from the fact that the Reds were interested in the Russian winger last summer.

 

GAYLE FORCE MOVE?
Some delightfully bizarre transfer deadline-day news, now. It involves Dwight Gayle, the man who loves playing against Liverpool.

Gayle has been linked with a move from Crystal Palace to Swansea most recently, but a new side have emerged as potential suitors. Leicester wish to do battle for his signature.

This is according to the Daily Mail, who say Gayle will cost £7million. It’s one of the wonderful quirks of the transfer window, where Gayle, playing at 11th-placed Crystal Palace, and without a Premier League goal since last January, could conceivably move to a far better club. If first-placed Leicester and Swansea, down in 15th, want to sign you, who would you go for?

 

AND THE REST
Chelsea rejected a late approach from Atletico Madrid to resign Diego Costa in exchange for Jackson Martinez plus cash…Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri expects to complete a £10m deal for Chelsea striker Loic Remy before Monday’s deadline…Tottenham defender Milos Veljkovic is joining Werder Bremen in a £500,000 deal plus add-ons…Stoke City boss Mark Hughes is battling to secure a club-record £14million swoop for Porto midfielder Giannelli Imbula after reviving the deal on Sunday…Stoke City winger Peter Odemwingie is joining Marseille on loan…Aston Villa have failed in a shock bid to sign flop Michu from Spanish fourth-tier outfit UP Langreo…Remi Garde is battling to make at least one signing before the window closes, with a loan deal for Arsenal defender Mathieu Debuchy still a possibility…LA Galaxy are prepared to test Aston Villa’s resolve over new skipper Joleon Lescott…West Brom have beaten Burnley to the loan signing of 22-year-old Spurs midfielder Alex Pritchard…Everton have made a £13.5m bid for Lokomotiv Moscow forward Oumar Niasse.