And there it goes, another transfer window.
No Harry Redknapp, no flight trackers, no 1am surprises and not even a purple dildo in sight on Sky Sports News. Deadline day came and deadline day went and, when all is said and done, only three of the Premier League’s top six got involved in any bit of expenditure.
Neither Spurs, United or Liverpool added to their rosters whilst Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City brought in just one more player each for the remainder of the season, Christian Pulisic going back to Germany on loan until June.
Arsenal
Denis Suarez (Barcelona) – Loan
Chelsea
Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund) – £57.6m
Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus) – Loan
Man City
Ante Palaversa (Hadjuk Split) – £7m
But although deadline day gradually lost the drama and emotion that once elevated its place in the public calendar to capital letters, there were still a few last-minute scrambles on the final day of transfers for English football.
Everyone’s favourite football comedian, Peter Crouch, joined Burnley on loan to link up with Irish legend Jon Walters in what will form changing room experiences to last a lifetime.
Awaiting your arrival @petercrouch pic.twitter.com/c8Uuzfhhyw
— Jonathan Walters (@JonWalters19) January 31, 2019
Crystal Palace completed a nifty bit of business by bringing Michy Batshuayi from Chelsea for the rest of the season.
Fulham meanwhile offered more hope to their survival campaign by signing Lazar Markovic from Liverpool and bringing another former Kop player back to England in the form of Ryan Babel.
Wolves, who took just 24 games to establish themselves as a top half Premier League team in their first season, flexed their muscles by making permanent the signing of 24-year-old Spain international full back Jonny Otto for what’s believed to be a fee of £18m.
It was Manchester United, however, who did the best business by signing Anthony Martial up until 2024 on the same day that they shipped out Marouane Fellaini.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtVK92fB7lN/
Newcastle went big on Italian full back Antonio Barreca by spending in excess of £20m on the 23-year-old.
Elsewhere, Scott Hogan joined Sheffield United on loan from Villa having failed to score or start a game for his parent club all season.
Leaving from the same club temporarily, the highly-rated Cavan midfielder Jake Doyle Hayes links up with Cambridge United until June.
In a loan frenzy window, David Meyler was signed by Coventry City from Reading for the rest of the season whilst Aaron Connolly – who penned a new deal with Brighton – was sent out to Luton to secure some game time.
Graham Burke was signed by Gillingham from Preston until May.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa played a blinder in recruiting three deadline day signings with left back Tyrone Mings joining on loan from Bournemouth, Tom Carroll signing for the rest of the season from Swansea with an option to buy at the end of it, and French defender Frederic Guilbert joining the promotion push.
