English Premier League transfer round-up: Roberto Mancini gets his wish as City spend

Published on 01/09/2012 02:14

Barclays Premier League champions Manchester City strengthened their squad with five new signings as the transfer window came to a hectic finale last night.

Manager Roberto Mancini had bemoaned a lack of signings earlier in the close season, but the Italian was able to add defenders Maicon and Matija Nastasic from Serie A sides Inter Milan and Fiorentina respectively.

Having earlier signed Swansea winger Scott Sinclair, 23, and goalkeeper Richard Wright, 34, City then beat the deadline by moments to sign Benfica midfielder Javi Garcia. The latter is effectively a replacement for Nigel de Jong, who made the switch to AC Milan, while striker Roque Santa Cruz joined Malaga on a season-long loan.

With Sinclair gone, Swansea completed the signing of Valencia winger Pablo Hernandez for a club record fee of £5.5 million.

The destination of Fulham’s Clint Dempsey dominated the agenda for much of the day, with the United States international eventually joining Tottenham in the final minutes of the window. He had previously been linked with Aston Villa and Liverpool, but a deal was finally agreed for a move across London.

Spurs also brought in France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris from Lyon on a four-year deal for an initial £7.9m. The fee could rise to £11.9m, and the Ligue 1 side also say they are entitled to 
20 per cent of any profit should he leave White Hart Lane in the future.

Three players left White Hart Lane yesterday, with the highest-profile deal seeing Rafael Van der Vaart seal a move back to Hamburg. Spurs also reached agreement for the transfer of Mexico international Giovani Dos Santos to Mallorca, while full-back Danny Rose was loaned to Sunderland.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, who allowed £35m striker Andy Carroll to join West Ham on loan on Thursday, continued his overhaul at the club by also offloading Charlie Adam. The Scotland midfielder has joined Stoke on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £4m. Jay Spearing is another to leave the Reds after he joined Bolton on a season-long loan.

Merseyside rivals Everton signed Bryan Oviedo from FC Copenhagen on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee. The Costa Rican, 22, can operate at left-back and on the left side of midfield. The Toffees also picked up young midfielder Matthew Kennedy from Kilmarnock on a three-year deal.

Oviedo had also been a target for West Brom, who duly shifted their sights to sign Dynamo Kiev left-back Goran Popov on a season-long loan. Popov’s proposed move to Stoke collapsed earlier this month.

Elsewhere, Dimitar Berbatov opted for a move to Fulham over a return to Tottenham. Berbatov joined the Cottagers from Manchester United for an undisclosed fee on a two-year contract and was reunited with Jol, who managed him during their time at Tottenham.

Jol also brought in Kieran Richardson from Sunderland on a three-year deal, with the fee undisclosed, and, right on the deadline, added Wolfsburg winger Ashkan Dejagah.

QPR manager Mark Hughes completed his 12th signing of the summer with the capture of Stephane Mbia from Marseille, while Joey Barton went the other way on a season-long loan. Cameroon international Mbia has regularly operated at centre-half for the Ligue 1 side, but is more at home in a holding midfield role.

Southampton completed the signing of Gaston Ramirez from Bologna for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £12m. The 21-year-old playmaker has signed a four-year contract at 
St Mary’s, allowing Billy Sharp to join Championship side 
Nottingham Forest on a 
season-long loan. The Saints also added American goalkeeper Cody Cropper after a successful trial.

Aston Villa left their business until late in the day, bringing in Belgium striker Christian Benteke, from Genk, and the versatile Ashley Westwood, from Crewe, in the final 90 minutes.

Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner completed a season-long loan switch to Italian champions Juventus, with South Korean forward Park Chu-young heading to Celta Vigo in a similar deal, while Chelsea allowed midfielder Michael Essien to join Real Madrid on loan.

Fellow Blues midfielder Yossi Benayoun also revealed on his Twitter account that he had joined former club West Ham on loan.