The winter transfer window has seen many comings and goings,
and now the final day has come. Transfer Deadline Day is a day full of ups and
downs, surprises and something that most football fans look forward to for
various reasons. My main reasons for enjoying Deadline Day so much are the almost
constant breaking news of new moves and the enthusiasm from everyone involved
in the day. The transfer window shuts at 11pm and I’m going to give a quick
round up of some of the confirmed deals and rumoured deals that have taken
place this morning.
The biggest confirmed deal is Mario Balotelli’s move from
Manchester City to AC Milan for a fee believed to be £19 million. The news of
the deal broke a few days ago but everything was confirmed this morning and he
is now officially an AC Milan player. A man who was in the news almost every
day while he was at Manchester City, he will be greatly missed by many I’m
sure, but I do have a feeling that while he might have joined a new club in
another country, we will still be hearing stories of Balotelli antics because
of the interest surrounding his life. The move I think is likely to benefit
Manchester City more in the short term I reckon as they can now look to press
on and improve their season without a player who has been on the fringes of the
team this season creating headlines, but with regards to the long term, if
Balotelli does live up to the potential that Roberto Mancini believes he has
and becomes a world class player at AC Milan, City might just have some regrets
about selling the player, but that ball is in Balotelli’s court and it is up to
him to fulfil his potential.
The only other confirmed deal this morning involving Premier
League clubs was Paul Scharner moving back to Wigan Athletic on loan from
Hamburg for the rest of the season. Scharner who last played in England for
West Bromwich Albion joined Hamburg last summer but has only managed a small handful
of games for the German club this season and the move back to Wigan should be a
good one given his Premier League experience and the need for a new centre half
at the club after Ivan Ramis was ruled out for the rest of the season with
injury earlier this month.
Other deals that are pretty much done but not likely to be
confirmed till the afternoon include defender Christopher Samba who has passed
a medical at Queens Park Rangers after agreeing a deal to move from Russian
side Anzhi Makhachkala. QPR were also looking to bring in winger Andros
Townsend on loan from Tottenham Hotspur but the deal was cancelled as the
player was on his way to have a medical with them. Norwich City are about to
complete a swap deal with Leeds United for striker Luciano Becchio with Steve
Morison moving in the other direction. Fulham are believed to be close to
securing loan deals for two Serie A players, midfielder Urby Emanuelson from AC
Milan and goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg from A.S. Roma. Blackburn Rovers
goalkeeper Paul Robinson is close to a move to West Ham United. If that move
goes through it is likely that goalkeeper Stephen Henderson will move in the
other direction making it a part exchange deal. Another move that has been
talked about recently has been Swansea City striker Danny Graham potentially
moving to Sunderland, the most recent talk is that a bid for the player has
been accepted and Graham will meet with Sunderland for talks this afternoon.
There are a lot of rumours going around as well, but far too
many to mention so I will just be posting about the confirmed deals and the
accepted offers for players on what is turning into a very interesting day.
Will be back in a few hours for the early afternoon review!
No comments:
Post a Comment