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Transfer deadline day fever took over all of Europe today, with rumors and gossip reigning supreme. Teams looked to wrap up last minute deals for players as the clock ticked down, here's a look at some of the big stories that unfolded during the day.
The biggest news grabber of the day was Robinho's move to AC Milan from Manchester City for a reported £12.5 million transfer fee. The Brazilian was signed by City 2 years ago to the day for a British record fee of £32.5 million from Real Madrid, signalling the intentions of the new Mid-Eastern owners. But the player failed to settle in England and spent the 2nd half of last season on loan at Santos. His move to the San Siro brings to an end the summer long speculation over his future. Though it would be easy to pass off the transfer as 20 million down the tube, the reality is that to a large extent the Robinho signing achieved what it was supposed to. It announced the presence of a new superpower on the European arena, and set the stage for transfers of other players who would never have given Manchester City a second glance. So perhaps not all doom and gloom there.
Deadline day began with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar sealing a move from AC Milan to Schalke for a reported fee of £10.5 million. The former Real Madrid striker failed to ignite at the San Siro and with the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Rossoneri were looking to offload the player.
Over in England, Birmingham City were the busiest club in the Premiership, signing three players on deadline day. The Blues wrapped up deals to bring Alexander Hleb and Jean Beausejour to St. Andrews. Hleb has been signed on a season-long loan from Barcelona while Beausejour has been signed from Club America for a reported £4 million transfer fee. They also captured Martin Jiranek from Spartak Moscow on a 1 year deal for an undisclosed fee. Alex McLeish has made shrewd purchases and will hope they can help Birmingham jump to the next level.
Sunderland wre the other big spenders of the day. They signed Asamoah Gyan from Rennes for a club record transfer fee of £13 million. The Ghanaian penned a 4 year deal with the Black Cats. Liverpool's Emiliano Insua signed for Galatasaray on a season-long loan deal. The left-back was linked with a move to Fiorentina earlier in the summer but failed to agree personal terms with the Italian Club. Galatasaray have an option to sign the Argentine permanently at the end of the loan period.
Liverpool moved quickly to replace Insua by confirming the signing of Paul Konchesky from Fulham, a deal which also sees Liverpool youngsters, Lauri Dalla Valle and Alex Kacaniklic move the other way. The left-back has signed a 4 year contract that sees him reunite with Roy Hodgson. Meanwhile, Fulham reportedly rejected a £4 million bid from Arsenal for Mark Schwarzer. Fulham's failed bid to land Shay Given from Manchester City has led the club to turn down Arsenal's offer for the Australian.
Wigan Athletic snapped up two young talents in Franco Di Santo and Tom Cleverley. Di Santo has signed a three year contract for an undisclosed fee while Cleverley has joined the Latics on a season-long loan from Manchester United. Stoke City have pulled off quite a coup by capturing Jermaine Pennant and Eidur Gudjohnsen on loan deals. Gudjohnsen, has played at the highest level with Chelsea and Barcelona, has signed a season-long loan deal while Pennant is on loan from Real Zaragoza until January. The Potters also signed Marc Wilson from Portsmouth in a deal which sees Liam Lawrence and David Kitsom moving the other way.
Spurs have signed Stipe Pletikosa on a season-long loan from Spartak Moscow. The Croatian keeper had been linked with a move to Spurs all summer and his signing finally gives Harry Redknapp cover in the goal-keeping position. Reading signed Blackburn defender Zurab Khizanishvili on a season-long loan. The Georgian spent half of last season at Reading on loan and will continue his stay at the Madejski Stadium till the end of this season.
The excitement in England has refused to die down, with journalists holding on to two versions of their frontpage, one with the photo of Robinho leaving, and the other with Rafael van der Vaart arriving. News is that the man simply known as VDV is at White Hart Lane, agreed terms, passed a medical and is awaiting confirmation from the FA that his papers have been filed in time for the 6pm deadline. Real Madrid have reportedly offered the Dutch international at a bargain £8 million price, and Good Ol' Harry has jumped at the offer with both hands. We will probably need to wait for the morning to know if this one has come through.
Schalke were the most active side in the Bundesliga on deadline day. They wrapped up a €13million deal for Atletico Madrid playmaker Jose Manuel Jurado. Lille defender Nicolas Piestan also signed for the German club. The 29 year old had a year left in his contract with Lille but chose to terminate it and join Felix Magath in Gelsenkirchen. Meanwhile, rivals Stuttgart captured Mauro Camoranesi from Juventus on a 1 year deal while Hoffenheim signed Reading midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson for a reported fee of€7.3million.
In some of the other transfers across Europe, Juventus signed Armand Traore from Arsenal on a season-long loan with an option to buy. Swiss international Gelson Fernandes joined Chievo on similar terms while Bologna wrapped up deals for Monaco midfielder Diego Perez, who signed a four year contract and Ivan Radovanovic, on loan from Atalanta. However, the excitement in Italy apart from Robinho was caused by Marco Borriello, who with the influx of so many strikers has left AC Milan for AS Roma. While rumours indicated that he was actually moving for a fee between €13 - 15 million, the reality is that he has just been loaned out instead. Meanwhile Genoa continued to raise some eyebrows capturing veteran Georgian skipper Kakha Kaladze also from AC Milan.
On the whole a fairly exciting transfer deadline day, with teams like Birmingham City, Stoke City and Schalke surprising everybody by signing quite a few players. The most shocking transfers of the day were, Alexander Hleb to Birmingham City and Eidur Gudjohnsen to Stoke City respectively. The clubs have splashed the cash to guarantee top flight status and push on to the next level. For now the transfer mayhem has come to an end, so see you around during the January transfer window.
- 13/09/2010 11:13 - Serie A Weekend wrap: AC Milan stunned by Cesena, Cagliari humble Roma
- 13/09/2010 09:53 - UEFA Champions League Preview: Werder Bremen vs. Tottenham Hotspur
- 12/09/2010 10:51 - Spanish La Liga wrap: Herculean power destroys Barca, Real Madrid recorded first win of the season

