The Europe-wide summer transfer window slammed shut at midnight last night, with plenty of moves to talk about. The Ashley Cole/William Gallas transfer saga, which felt like it had been going on for about twelve years, finally reached a conclusion, while the eye-catching coup of the day went to West Ham who signed Argentine duo Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano from Corinthians.

However it was a quiet day for Manchester United, who allowed Liam Miller and Chris Eagles to leave but didn?t sign anyone, while Merseyside was also quiet as Liverpool and Everton both failed to sign anyone. Martin O?Neill will have to wait until January to continue his Aston Villa revolution after the window shut without him adding to the signing of Stilian Petrov.

As expected, Harry Redknapp had a busy day, making three signings, while Martin Jol added two new faces to his already quite large squad at White Hart Lane. Mark Hughes signed another striker for Blackburn while Fulham and Man City will hope to have solved their left-sided problems with loan deals. Gareth Southgate tried to address the defensive problems at Middlesbrough but also signed a forward, as did Newcastle. Wigan moved late but secured the signatures of three new players, while the three promoted clubs only signed two players between them, Steve Coppell?s Reading being the side who didn?t make a signing.

In the Championship, Roy Keane brought in no fewer than six former team mates to the Stadium of Light, while Leeds were also busy. In contrast, top of the table Cardiff and second place Norwich had were quiet, as were big-spending Birmingham.

Here are the deadline day transfers from the Premiership and the football league, as well as the major transfers from Italy, Spain, Germany and Holland:

Premiership Transfers

Arsenal
William Gallas joined as part of the deal that took Ashley Cole to Stamford Bridge. The question is, with Cole gone, will the Frenchman have to play left back? If he does, I?ll bet we?ve not heard the last of bleating and moaning from members of the Arsenal squad. While we?re on swap deals though, Julio Baptista has joined the Gunners on a loan deal from Real Madrid, while Jose Reyes gets the chance to help bore Spain to death in Fabio Capello?s new look side.

Aston Villa
There were no transfers in at Villa to add to the signing of Stilian Petrov from Celtic on the 30th, with a deal for Newcastle?s James Milner falling through.

Blackburn
Mark Hughes signed his fourth striker of the summer in the shape of Congolese international Shabani Nonda, who is on a season long loan from Roma.

Bolton
No last day deals for Sam Allardyce, whose final signing of the transfer window was Iranian midfielder Andranik Teymourian from Abu Moslem on the 30th.

Charlton
Uruguayan central midfielder Omar Pouso has been signed from Penarol on a season-long loan. What? No, me neither.

Chelsea
To the sound of no one caring (except maybe Wayne Bridge), Mourinho?s side finally completed the signing of OK! Magazine star and sometime footballer Ashley Cole from Arsenal for a fee of ?5m with William Gallas going the other way

Everton
David Moyes had clearly done all the shopping he wanted to do earlier in the summer, as there were no transfer moves by Everton

Fulham
As part of the deal that took Malbranque to Spurs, the Cottagers have signed young winger Wayne Routledge on a year?s loan. Meanwhile, Antti Niemi looks to finally have some proper competition for his place in the shape of Shakhtar?s Czech keeper Jan Lastuvka, not Stipe Pletikosa as was originally reported. The club have also released Jaroslav Drobny from his contract.

Liverpool
Liverpool allowed Jan Kromkamp to return to his homeland but a deal for Jamie Carragher?s favourite Aussie, Blackburn?s Lucas Neill, never materialised

Man City
The left wing problem would appear to have been solved, for now, by the signing of American DaMarcus Beasley on loan from PSV

Man Utd
Despite plenty of rumour and speculation, it was a quiet transfer deadline day for United, who brought no one in but allowed Liam Miller to leave and farmed Chris Eagles out on loan

Middlesbrough
The goal-scoring burden on Yakubu has not exactly been lessened by the signing of Jason Euell (remember him?) from Charlton. Also the much-delayed deal for Chelsea?s lumbering Robert Huth was completed for ?6m, and the occasional German international could make a fearsome treatment-room partnership with Jonathan Woodgate.

Newcastle
Antoine Sibierski joined from Man City?.No, I don?t understand that one either.

Portsmouth
Harry Redknapp continues to labour under the delusion that it?s 1998 again and has signed Man City?s veteran striker Andy ?call me Andrew? Cole to add to the signings of David James, Sol Campbell and Kanu as he looks to build a side to challenge for the 1998/99 season title. Don?t worry though, Pompey fans, it?s not all ageing has-beens: Redknapp has also sealed a deal for Croatian playmaker Niko Kranjcar from Hajduk Split for ?3.5m and signed Cameroon winger Roudolph Douala from Sporting Lisbon on loan.

Reading
As expected, Reading made no moves on deadline day.

Sheff Utd
Neil Warnock added yet more proven Premiership quality to his fleet of strikers by bringing Brighton?s Colin Kazim-Richards into his squad. With a total six goals in forty-five appearances at the Withdean Stadium, Premiership defenders are bound to be quaking in their boots.

Tottenham
Martin Jol could well pioneer a groundbreaking 0-10-0 formation this season as he has signed yet another central midfielder, Fulham?s not-as-good-as-he-thinks-he-is Steed Malbraque. However, he has also bolstered the defence, blowing a hole in my ten midfielders theory, with the signing of Wigan malcontent Pascal Chimbonda in a deal believed to be worth around ?5.25m.

Watford
Former Watford striker Tommy Smith can now be referred to as current Watford striker Tommy Smith after he re-joined the club from Derby.

West Ham
In the most surprising and talked-about transfer of the day, Corinthians? big-name Argentine duo of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez have signed for the Hammers on permanent deals, not loans as was originally thought. In less exciting news, they also signed Czech Republic?s under-17 keeper Marek Stech from Sparta Prague.

Wigan
Everton fans will be happy after Kevin Kilbane, never the most popular player at Goodison, moved to the Latics for around ?2m, while Bradley Orr has one less teammate to fight with at Bristol City now that David Cotterill has joined the Latics for around ?2m. Portsmouth?s mediocre striker Svetoslav Todorov also joined on loan.

Continental Transfers

In Italy, AC Milan may have finally replaced Andrei Shevchenko by bringing in Betis? AWOL striker Ricardo Oliveira. They have also sold Amoroso to Corinthians, Johann Vogel to Betis and loaned Pasquale Foggia to Lazio. Across the city, Inter have continued their summer spending spree by signing Palermo?s Mariano Gonzalez. Meanwhile, having been spurned by Lee Young-Pyo, Roma consoled themselves with Tottenham?s aptly named Brazilian defender Rodrigo Defendi on a season-long loan, as well as Brescia?s Gilberto Martinez, also on loan. In one of the more intriguing of many Serie A loan deals, Italian international Stefano Fiore has returned home, leaving Valencia for the biggest club in Turin these days?Torino, while Ascoli have signed Albanian international Irvin Skela from Kaiserslautern and former Juventus defender Mark Iuliano has joined Messina on a free transfer.

In Spain, Jose Reyes finally got his dream move away from Arsenal to Any Spanish Club?.er, I mean Real Madrid on loan, with Baptista going the other way. The Anglo-Spanish deals didn?t end there though, with Liverpool?s French striker Florent Sinama-Pongolle joining newly promoted La Liga side Recreativo on loan for the season, where he will join ex-Celta Vigo man Javi Guerrero. Meanwhile Villarreal have gone and spent their money gained from selling Juan Pablo Sorin to Hamburg on Arsenal?s Pascal Cygan. Yes, that Pascal Cygan. Seriously. Racing Santander signed ?the Serbian Peter Crouch?, 6 ft. 8 Nikola Zigic from Red Star Belgrade. What?s Spanish for ?he?s got a good touch for a big man?? I wonder. On that note, a man who is neither big nor has a good touch is former Man City winger Kiki Musampa, who has left Atletico Madrid to join Turkey?s Trabzonspor, while Deportivo have released the troublesome duo of Diego Tristan and Lionel Scaloni after they failed to secure moves away from the club and signed Adrian Lopez Alvarez from Oviedo.

In Germany, Hamburg have continued their tradition of getting decent players quite cheaply by signing Villarreal?s left-back-cum-winger Juan Pablo Sorin for either ?2m or ?3m, depending on who you believe, as well as Serbian forward Danijel Ljuboja from Stuttgart. Bayern Munich allowed Ze Roberto to leave and he has joined Brazilian club Santos

In France, Paris Saint-Germain?s Cameroon midfielder Modeste M?Bami switched to fierce rivals Marseille while Bordeaux signed Nigerian Joseph Enakarhire on loan from Dinamo Moscow with a view to a permanent switch.

In Holland, Ryan Donk moved from Waalwijk to AZ Alkmaar, while Chris Eagles has joined NEC Nijmegen on loan from Man Utd. Patrick Kluivert has decided he likes the look of the nightlife in Eindhoven and has left Valencia to sign a one-year deal with PSV, where Liverpool misfit Jan Kromkamp will join him. Feyenoord moved swiftly to snap up a replacement for Dirk Kuyt in the shape of Ajax striker Angelos Charisteas, who becomes the first player to move from Ajax to Feyenoord in fourteen years.

Football League Transfers

New Sunderland boss Roy Keane has partaken in the tradition of inexperienced managers signing their former teammates by bringing in fun-loving striker and sometime central midfielder Dwight Yorke from Sydney FC for ?200,000, not-quite-the-new-Keane Liam Miller from Man Utd, prematurely grey-haired Ireland midfielder Graham Kavanagh from Wigan for ?500,000, Irish (shock!) international David Connolly for ?1.4m, also from Wigan and Celtic duo Ross Wallace and Stanislav Varga, who is a former Sunderland player.

Leeds were also busy on deadline day, bringing in Blackburn midfielder Jonathan Douglas, Charlton?s Danish keeper Stephan Andersen and Fulham?s Tony Warner, who joins on loan. They?ve also have finally gotten Eirik Bakke off the wage bill, allowing him to join SK Brann for free.

Stoke City sold one striker and then signed one, as Hannes Sigurdsson moved to Brondby while Ricardo Fuller joined from Southampton. Saints made one of the more interesting deals in the Championship, snapping up arguably Derby?s best player in Inigo Idiakez for ?250k. Coventry, meanwhile, made up for their failure to bring in Rangers? excellently named Nacho Novo by signing Norwich?s Leon McKenzie for ?1m instead.

Ipswich were another busy side, signing Fulham?s forgotten bearded midfielder Sylvian Legwinski on a free transfer and ending Sam Parkin?s largely unsuccessful spell at Portman Road by selling him to Hull for ?250,000. Parkin?s replacement will be Jon Macken, who will be missing chances in an Ipswich shirt now having signed on loan from Crystal Palace, while manager Jim Magilton has allowed youngster Liam Trotter to join Millwall on loan.

Big-spending Birmingham had a quiet deadline day, only bringing in Artur Krysiak from Polish outfit Lodz. Hull sold Ben Burgess to Blackpool for ?100,000, but added to the signing of Sam Parkin with the perennially injured Michael Bridges who signed from Carlisle for ?350,000, who also sold Adam Murray to Torquay for ?10,000.

Ian Holloway, the Plymouth Argyle manager, is rarely quiet and deadline day proved no exception as he signed Heerenveen?s defender Marcel Seip and former Next Big Thing Cherno Samba from Cadiz. West Brom chose not to add to their large squad but did allow former Arsenal midfielder Junichi Inamoto to join Galatasaray, while Crystal Palace paid Blackburn ?2.5m to have leaden-footed bellyflopper Shefki Kuqi stand around up front.

Struggling Colchester signed QPR?s Kevin McLeod while Millwall signed a free agent in the shape of Danny Senda, as did Crewe who signed Lee Matthews.

Nottingham Forest?s squad got lighter following German midfielder Eugen Bopp?s move to Rotherham and loan deals for Nicky Eaden, who joins Lincoln, and Spencer Wier-Daley, who joins Macclesfield. Wier-Daley wasn?t the only signing Macclesfield made as Oldham?s Rob Scott and Oxford?s Marvin Robinson joined Bury?s Matthew Tipton in signing for the club.

Paul Ince, who had been without a club since leaving Wolves, joined Dennis Wise?s Swindon as a player-coach while Bradford City allowed alleged striker Michael Symes to join Shrewsbury. Darlington snapped up Finnish unknown Vill Vaisanen on a free transfer from FF Jaro while Rochdale shipped out Iyseden Christie to Kiddiminster on loan and a possible replacement is Blackburn youngster Keith Barker, likewise signed on loan.

Northampton meanwhile signed free agent Jerome Watt while Hereford signed Luke Webb on a free transfer and Dom Blizzard on a season-long loan from Watford.

Scottish Transfers

Rangers have signed Austria Vienna defender Sasa Papic, while Hearts have continued their quest to sign the entire squad of Lithuanian side FBK Kaunas by bringing in Andrius Velicka and Kestutis Ivaskevicius, as well as Roman Bednar (who isn?t Lithuanian) on a permanent deal. They?ve also sent John Neil on loan to Hamilton, possibly because he?s not an ex-Kaunas player. Aberdeen have sold Stevie Crawford back to Dunfirmline.

Other Transfers
(Just a couple of transfers not already mentioned that you might want to know about. Or maybe not).

The Portuguese champions Porto signed Uruguayan defender Jorge Fucile from Liverpool (no, not that Liverpool, the Uruguayan Liverpool) and in Norway, Ardian Gashi has moved from Valarenga to SK Brann. Yes, I thought I?d wrap things up with the day?s most exciting deal.

And so there?s the round up of the moves on deadline day. Apologies if I have missed or forgotten any, it was impossible to keep up with every single move that was made, but I think I got a fair few in there. Well, there will be no more transfers until January now so for better or worse the clubs are stuck with what they?ve got. Who made the best moves and who made costly mistakes? We?ll find out in the months ahead.

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This entry was posted on Friday, September 1st, 2006 at 2:21 pm and is filed under European Football News, Football News. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.