Sport
Best ever deadline day signings
We are in store for a busy week in the Premier League, with matches taking place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. There is also the small matter of transfer deadline day on September 1, after which clubs will not be able to make any signings until January.
Antony, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Youri Tielemans are among the big-name players who could be on the move before the window slams shut.
Here are some of the best summer deadline-day deals in Premier League history.
Wayne Rooney to Manchester United
Everton were always going to struggle to keep hold of Rooney after his blistering displays at Euro 2004, but his destination was far from inevitable. At one point Newcastle United were in pole position to sign the teenager, with their chairman Freddie Shepherd keen to pair Rooney with Alan Shearer up front.
Manchester United ultimately bid more than the Magpies, though, and it was they who got the deal done on deadline day in 2004. A fee of £30m was not exactly small at the time, but it proved to be a bargain: Rooney went on to become the club’s all-time record goalscorer, winning five Premier League titles and a Champions League along the way.
Claude Makelele to Chelsea
One of the most influential players in Premier League history, Makelele was the 13th and final signing in a busy summer of activity for Chelsea in 2004. There was some surprise in Spain that they were able to prise him away from Real Madrid (Zinedine Zidane was famously critical of the deal), but a fee of £16m was sufficient to bring the Frenchman to west London.
In an era of box-to-box midfielders, Makelele was a specialist holding player who did the dirty work so that others could flourish. He was so successful that the role was named after him, at least in England. Makelele was instrumental in Chelsea’s title triumphs in 2004/05 and 2005/06.
Robbie Keane to Tottenham Hotspur
Keane averaged a goal every other league game in a loan spell at Leeds United in 2001, but he was much less prolific after the Whites made the move permanent. With Leeds in financial trouble, they were forced to cash in on the Irishman on deadline day 2002, with Tottenham paying £7m to acquire his services.
Keane was impressively consistent throughout his first spell at Spurs, reaching double figures for Premier League goals in each of his six seasons. In total he found the net 107 times in 254 appearances for the club before being sold to Liverpool in summer 2008 (he returned to Tottenham a few months later).
Ashley Cole to Chelsea
One of the most controversial transfers of all time in the Premier League, Chelsea, their manager Jose Mourinho and Cole were all fined after the Blues were found guilty of ‘tapping up’ the left-back. Chelsea got their man in the end, however, paying £5m for Cole and sending William Gallas in the other direction.
The England international was a model of consistency at Stamford Bridge, where he honed his defensive skills to become an all-round full-back. Somewhat surprisingly, Cole only won one Premier League title in west London, but he also lifted four FA Cups, a League Cup, the Champions League and the Europa League.
Marouane Fellaini to Everton
David Moyes did a brilliant job at Everton, who were regular challengers for the European spots despite budgetary constraints. The Toffees found the cash to break their transfer record for Fellaini in 2008, sending £15m to Standard Liege in return for the big-haired Belgian.
Fellaini was mostly used in a deeper midfield role at Manchester United, but Moyes pushed him further forward during his Everton days. He was the club’s joint-top scorer in his debut campaign and reached double figures in 2012/13, his last season at Goodison Park.
Hugo Lloris to Tottenham Hotspur
The veteran goalkeeper Brad Friedel was performing superbly as Tottenham’s No.1 in September 2012, but the club knew they had to replace him sooner rather than later. In came Lloris for less than £12m, and while the Frenchman initially had to remain patient as Friedel put up a fight for the gloves, he was Tottenham’s first-choice pick by November.
Lloris has gone on to become a Spurs stalwart. The club captain has now played 420 games in all competitions; barring injury, he is likely to end the campaign in seventh place on Tottenham’s list of all-time top appearance-makers.
