Born in the south east of Ireland, Simon put his life-long love of football to good use when he started a successful independent blog in 2010. That opened up an alternative route to a career in journalism, and having had work published across a number of sites and publications, Simon joined the staff at Spotlight Sports Group in 2018.
The transfer window slammed shut at 11pm on February 1st, calling time on the last-minute scramble for new recruits ahead of the second half of the 2020/21 campaign.
The trolly dash during this winter’s Deadline Day wasn’t quite as frenetic as previous years, though there was still enough action and deal-sheet swapping to get Jim White all sweaty as business came to a close.
Below, we’ve wrapped up all the key Deadline Day deals in the Premier League, as well as some of the more interesting moves from the lower division and the continent.
Deadline Day talking points
Liverpool bolster defence
The champions finally fleshed out their defensive options by signing Schalke’s Ozan Kabak and Preston’s Ben Davies on the last day of the window to ease Jurgen Klopp’s pressing selection problems at the back.
With Joel Matip’s ankle ligament injury ruling him out for the rest of the campaign, and Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez both long-term absentees, Liverpool’s need for reinforcements was dire, and the Reds managed to strengthen their hand at very little cost.
20-year-old Kabak arrives after two years in the Bundesliga, where he turned out for Stuttgart before joining Schalke in July 2019. The seven-times capped Turkish international will arrive on loan initially, though Liverpool have the option to make the move permanent if he impresses.
25-year-old Ben Davies was something of a surprise capture however. The ex-Fleetwood, Tranmere, Newport and Preston man had spent his entire career in the English lower leagues until yesterday, making his switch to the Premier League champions all the more remarkable.
Baggies bag two more
Expert wheeler-dealer Sam Allardyce dipped into the market to nab two more recruits for WBA on Deadline Day, adding versatile Arsenal youngster Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Celta Vigo midfielder Okay Yokuslu to his relegation threatened squad.
While Premier League fans will be fully familiar with Maitland-Niles, Yokuslu’s arrival would have sparked a thousand Google searches as supporters tried to find out more about the Turkish schemer.
The 26-year-old – who didn’t register single goal or assist in 12 La Liga appearances – hasn’t enjoyed the best of seasons so far, though the Turkish international, who is fond of a biting tackle or two, could be more at home in the cut and thrust of the Premier League.
King finally secures Premier League return
After a number of deals fell through in previous windows – most notably a switch to Manchester United in January last year – Josh King finally secured a move away from Bournemouth yesterday when he signed for Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton.
The Norwegian forward spent five years in the top flight with Bournemouth before the Cherries relegation last summer, where he scored 48 goals from his 173 Premier League appearances.
The 29-year-old has notched just six goals in the Championship this term however, though his uninspiring record didn’t stop a number of Premier League clubs from battling it out for his signature.
February 1 – confirmed Deadline Day deals
Premier League
Joe Willock – Arsenal to Newcastle – Loan
Ben Davies – Preston to Liverpool – £500,000
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – Arsenal to West Brom – Loan
Ozan Kabak – Schalke to Liverpool – Loan
Moises Caicedo – Independiente del Valle to Brighton – £4m
Okay Yokuslu – Celta Vigo to West Brom – Loan
Josh Maja – Bordeaux to Fulham – Loan
Liam Hughes – Celtic to Liverpool – Undisclosed
Dara Costelloe – Galway United to Burnley – Undisclosed
Shane Long – Southampton to Bournemouth – Loan
Takumi Minamino – Liverpool to Southampton – Loan
Josh King – Bournemouth to Everton – Undisclosed
European
Shkodran Mustafi – Arsenal to Schalke – Free
Paulo Gazzaniga – Tottenham to Elche – Loan
Olivier Ntcham – Celtic to Marseille – Loan
Aboubakar Kamara – Fulham to Dijon – Loan
Adama Diakhaby – Huddersfield to Amiens – Undisclosed
Miguel Angel Guerrero – Nottingham Forest to Rayo Vallecano – Undisclosed
Jese Rodriguez – PSG to Las Palmas – Free
Cedric Kipre – West Brom to Charleroi – Loan
Badou Ndiaye – Stoke to Al-Ain – Loan
Jayden Braaf – Man City to Udinese – Loan
Rolando Mandragora – Juventus to Torino – Loan
Cenk Tosun – Everton to Besiktas – Loan
Gedson Fernandes – Benfica (via Spurs) to Galatasaray – Loan
Joshua Zirkzee – Bayern Munich to Parma – Loan
Sami Khedira – Juventus to Hertha Berlin – Loan
DeAndre Yedlin – Newcastle to Galatasaray – Loan
Aro Muric – Man City to Willem II – Loan
Michael Verrips – Sheffield United to Emmen FC – Loan
Jonathan De Bie – Tottenham to R.W.D. Molenbeek – Undisclosed
Robert Glatzel – Cardiff to Mainz – Loan
Jonas Lossl – Everton to FC Midtjylland – Undisclosed
Domingos Quina – Watford to Granada – Loan
Martin Samuelsen – Hull to Aalborg BK – Loan
Rafa Mujica – Leeds to Las Palmas – Loan
Miguel Fernandez – Birmingham to CD Guijuelo – Loan
Roderick Miranda – Wolves to Gaziantep – Free
EFL moves worth noting
Paul Arriola – DC United to Swansea – Loan
Anthony Gordon – Everton to Preston – Loan
Patrick Roberts – Man City to Derby – Loan
Neeskens Kebano – Fulham to Middlesbrough – Loan
Beni Baningime – Everton to Derby – Loan
Max Sanders – Brighton to Lincoln – Undisclosed
Yan Valery – Southampton to Birmingham – Loan
Sam Field – West Brom to QPR – Loan
George Edmundson – Rangers to Derby – Loan
Will Grigg – Sunderland to MK Dons
Maxime Le Marchand – Fulham to Royal Antwerp – Loan
Jack Roles – Tottenham to Stevenage – Loan
Tom Ince – Stoke to Luton – Loan
Sepp van den Berg – Liverpool to Preston – Loan
Danny Graham – Left Sunderland by mutual consent
Oladapo Afolayan – West Ham to Bolton – Loan
Daryl Dike – Orlando City to Barnsley – Loan
Teden Mengi – Man Utd to Derby – Loan
Taylor Harwood-Bellis – Man City to Blackburn – Loan
Orjan Nyland – Unattached to Norwich – FRee
Matt Smith – Arsenal to Charlton – Loan
Winston Reid – West Ham to Brentford – Loan
Troy Parrott – Tottenham to Ipswich – Loan
Keke Simmonds – Man City to Birmingham – Undisclosed
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