The following is my take on Transfer Deadline Day as it happened from 8.30am to 12.30pm:
8.30am – Wake up! Apparently Harry Redknapp’s come out and said that Luka Modric is 1,000% staying at Spurs. Now there’s being ‘certain’ and there’s going ‘over the top’ and Redknapp has certainly done that. We’re really only going to ever know if he’s staying at Spurs when the deadline passes tonight at 11pm!
8.45am – Joe Cole who rightly or wrongly appears to be out of Kenny Dalglish’s plans at Liverpool this season is apparently contemplating a move to French champions Lille. It’d be a good move for him and his young family and will be a good chance to resurrect his career which is going nowhere at Liverpool. It’d be a good experience for him to play abroad, which is something more English players (Jermaine Jenas cough, cough!) should be thinking about doing when they’ve got no chance of playing for their club.
9.00am – According to the latest gossip, Twente’s Bryan Ruiz is seemingly on the verge of signing for Fulham as is Marseille’s talented forward Pierre-Andre Gignac. Both players would be excellent signings for Martin Jol, who in all fairness would be getting in two forwards who could do ‘better’ than Fulham to be honest. Why haven’t Spurs or Arsenal tried to sign Ruiz? God only knows!
9.20am – Celtic’s Shaun Maloney is closing in on a move to Wigan. The Scot isn’t a bad player, but my first thoughts are why on earth would Roberto Martinez want him, after all this is the same player who ‘ran’ back home to Glasgow after failing to settle for Aston Villa. Mind you if Bobby can get him settled in sunny Wigan, then it could be a good move all-round.
9.40am – This one’s a shock. Scott Dann, who had been linked with Arsenal and Liverpool for virtually the whole of the summer might be on the move to Blackburn, yes the same team who have lost their opening 3 Premier League games. Is he about to join a sinking ship?
10.00am – Tony Pulis looks like being a busy boy today. Apparently he’s looking to bring Nicklas Bendtner (pink boots ‘n all) in to join Stoke’s European adventure this season. Wilson Palacios’ move to Stoke appears to be close to being wrapped up and whilst off-field problems haven’t helped him in London over the last 18months, a move to the Potteries would be a great way for him to get his career back on track.
10.15am – Neil Warnock’s going to be a happy boy tonight it seems, as QPR are apparently in talks to sign Craig ‘love him or hate him’ Bellamy from Manchester City. Bellamy is clearly someone who can bring fire-power to any team in the division. There’s no doubt the Welshman’s too good to waddle about in the reserves under Roberto Mancini and hopefully for his sake, this deal (if there is a deal) can go through – as he’s exactly what QPR need right now.
10.30am – Apparently Marseille’s president has said that Gignac will not be going to Fulham on loan. Oh that’s a shame I was looking forward to seeing him bang the goals in for the Cottagers up top with Bobby Zamora. Now we’re just have to make do with seeing him bang in some against Arsenal in the Champions League.
11.00am – More good news for Warnock at QPR, as apparently it looks like they’ve agreed a fee with City to sign Shaun Wright-Phillips. SWP has grown stale at City and whilst he never produced the same quality for them that he did prior to moving to Chelsea in 2005, a move anywhere where he’s going to be playing regularly will be good for him. It’s staggering that the winger’s 29 years old, as he still looks about 18.
11.20am – It may have been confirmed really last night, but deals for Per Mertesaker, Andre Santos and Park Chu-Young (don’t get him confused with Park Ji-Sung) to join Arsenal are expected to go through today. Mertesaker will no doubt bring experience to the back-line for Arsene Wenger surely has to go out and buy a defensive midfielder as surely that’s the kind of player that his team require most? Well you’d think so anyway.
11.45am – Apparently Aston Villa are ‘in talks’ to sign Joe Cole from Liverpool. Whilst a move to Villa would be good for him, a move to Lille to play in the Champions League is surely a better option for him than to join Alex McCleish’s side who won’t be playing in Europe any time soon. Speaking of players in Europe, Freiburg’s talented Senegalese forward Papiss Demba Cisse is now being linked with at least 5-6 Premier League clubs. He’s a proven goalscorer but it seems that despite scoring 24 goals in the Bundesliga last season that no club according is willing to pay the wonga required to buy him. That’s a shame.
12.15pm – Birmingham’s Cameron Jerome, who certainly has the potential to become a good player in the Premier League despite not really hitting the heights during 3 seasons playing in the division for the Blues is being linked with Stoke and apparently the two clubs have agreed a fee for the tall forward. He’d be a good option for them who would surely profit from Rory Delap’s long throw-ins, as well as playing alongside Kenwyn Jones.
12.30pm – Thank god for that! Joe Cole it has been announced on Liverpool’s website has agreed a season-long loan deal to play for Lille. It’ll be very interesting to see how he gets on in France and how well he can do on a personal-level in the Champions League as there’s no doubt if he can get his fitness and confidence back, at worst he’ll come back to England a better player if the move is not made into a permanent one.
By Adam Dennehey @ADennehey87
