Source: Daily_Mail
Premier League transfer deadline day: Clubs go to the wire in bid to land bargains
While Liverpool's doctor waited in vain for a green light to put Carlton Cole through a medical, Robbie Keane was left in limbo over a move to Turkey. [LNB]The Spurs striker had even been the target of late interest from Manchester City, who would have considered a swap deal with Roque Santa Cruz. [LNB] Done deal: Robinho joins AC Milan to end his Manchester City nightmare[LNB]Liverpool's Ryan Babel, meanwhile, was said to be in a helicopter heading for West Ham when Tottenham declared an interest. Soon after, however, he was tweeting: 'I'm going nowhere.' [LNB]Harry Redknapp, disappointed not to have landed Babel, was on his way home when Spurs chairman Daniel Levy suggested he could sign Rafael van der Vaart from Real Madrid - £10million cheaper than was being asked 24 hours earlier. [LNB] Enlarge Enlarge 'I was ready to go home when the chairman contacted me at around 4pm and said we had a chance of Van der Vaart,' said Spurs boss Redknapp. 'He's a quality player, so I said, "Let's give it a crack and push on." He was going to Bayern Munich on Monday for £18m. Then he became cheaper and we could get him for less. It's a last-minute job, but I'm hopeful.' [LNB]The bid was lodged by 6pm, which means the Premier League will extend the deadline to allow the transfer to be completed. It was one of those days. Redknapp had been looking for Babel's pace. [LNB] Enlarge 'We were interested this morning, we felt he had pace and is lightning quick. We made an enquiry, but it never got close,' said the manager. [LNB]Liverpool would not sell unless West Ham dropped their asking price for Cole. It was a mixed day for Redknapp as he awaited confirmation on Van der Vaart. Keane was last night considering a £7m move to Besiktas on a deadline extended to 5pm today, keeper Stipe Pletikosa signed in, Scott Parker stayed put at West Ham and Everton resisted all proposals for Steven Pienaar - despite a sweetener of David Bentley on loan. [LNB]Park footballer: Gyan is a Sunderland man after the Black Cats splashed out £13m [LNB]Fulham were another club who were interested in Bentley, but ran out of time. Everton, however, did agree to allow Joseph Yobo to join Fenerbahce on loan. Sunderland delivered the biggest signing of the transfer window's last day with Asamoah Gyan's £13m arrival from Rennes. [LNB]Stoke and Birmingham were among the biggest movers as fans were left asking of their clubs: 'Why did we leave it until the last day and a mad scramble?' [LNB]A recession and a demand for greater austerity will provide the answer as many owners appeared determined to hold on to their cash. [LNB]Even so, a late scramble saw agents and managers complain of a backlog of faxes at Premier League headquarters. [LNB]While Santa Cruz waited and might have joined either Fulham or Spurs, Robinho's £16m departure to AC Milan meant the Paraguayan must hope he makes Manchester City's 25-man squad. [LNB]'I'm staying and happy to fight for my place,' said dazed Santa Cruz. But a relieved Robinho grabbed the No 70 shirt and dreamed of teaming up with Ronaldinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic as he declared: 'Milan are a fantastic club. I hope to show that our attack is the strongest in Europe.' [LNB] Best foot forward: Paul Konchesky goes through his medical before signing for Liverpool[LNB]The second coup of the day went to Alex McLeish as Birmingham signed Club America's Chilean winger Jean Beausejour hot on the heels of Spartak Moscow captain Martin Jiranek and Barcelona's Alexander Hleb on a year's loan. [LNB]Hleb was courted by big clubs but revealed: 'There were many interested - Liverpool, Tottenham and Benfica. Birmingham apparently wanted me more than anyone else, so they were my preference.' [LNB]Agent Willie McKay, acting on behalf of Monaco, guided Eidur Gudjohnsen into the grateful arms of Stoke and Jermaine Pennant ended his brief reign in Spain with Real Zaragoza by moving to the Britannia. [LNB]And Stoke completed a hat-trick by signing Portsmouth's Marc Wilson, with Liam Lawrence and Dave Kitson going the other way. [LNB]Sunderland offloaded Martyn Waghorn to Leicester and Teemu Tainio to Ajax to make way for Gyan's arrival but Liverpool's hopes came to nothing. No Cole. No Mario Gomez. At least Paul Konchesky finally arrived from Fulham.[LNB] It brought to a close a summer in which Premier League sides spent the lowest amount for four years, with only one club guilty of the 'kamikaze' spending that so irritated Sir Alex Ferguson. [LNB]That was Manchester City, responsible for more than a third of the top flight's £330m outlay. Their £129m spree was a rare sign of excess in a sedate market. [LNB]Premier League clubs spent a quarter less than last year, the lowest total since 2006. Chelsea continued last summer's relative thrift as Ramires (£18m) and Yossi Benayoun (£6m) were the only senior players to arrive, while Manchester United spent £23.4m on Bebe, Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez. [LNB]But City bucked the trend. If the arrivals of £200,000-a-week Yaya Toure, World Cup-winner David Silva and Mario Balotelli raised eyebrows, James Milner's £26m move showed the strength of the club's intentions. This is a club who can pay threequarters of Craig Bellamy's wages after his loan move to Cardiff and watch Robinho join AC Milan for half the fee paid two years ago [LNB] British record signing Robinbo cuts ties with Man City to join AC MilanTottenham set to clinch shock deadline day move for Real Madrid star Rafael van der Vaart The good, the bad and the ugly! Club-by-club verdict to every Premier League club's ins and outs in the transfer windowWorld Cup star Gyan joins Sunderland in club record £12m swoop [LNB]
