Matt Doherty secured the biggest Irish transfer deadline day in years when he made the shock move on Tuesday from Tottenham to Atletico Madrid.
Signed on a short-term deal until the end of the season, he is the latest in a long line of Irish players to squeeze through a move in the nick of time.
It’s not Doherty’s first deadline day move - he went on-loan to Hibernian from Wolves in January 2012, after just two first-team appearances for the Molineux side.
After a pair of successful loan spells at Hibs and Bury, he returned to Wolves and wasn’t long establishing himself as a regular in the side.
Will this one be as successful for the Dubliner? Or will he be another to struggle after a mid-season move?
Here are some of the most notable Irish winter deadline day moves of recent years.
# GLENN WHELAN (Sheffield Wed to Stoke, January 2008)
Stoke City coughed up a measly €600,000 to sign Glenn Whelan from Sheffield Wednesday on deadline day in January 2008 - and boy did the Dubliner repay them in style.
Whelan looked a solid player while at Hillsborough, where he made over 150 first-team appearances and scored 16 goals.
But no one could have predicted the impact he would have at the Potters.
Not yet a senior Ireland international - his debut would come five months later in Croke Park against Serbia - Whelan went on to play almost 340 times for Stoke.
He helped them win promotion to the Premier League and then produced season after season of no-fuss performances as they comfortably held their own in the top-flight.
Has there been a better value Irish winter deadline day signing? We don’t think so.
# SCOTT HOGAN (Brentford to Aston Villa, January 2017)
Scott Hogan’s sensational scoring form with Brentford, where he netted 14 goals in 25 games up to the end of January, encouraged Championship rivals Aston Villa to spend almost €15m to bring him to Birmingham.
Unfortunately for the Villa Park side - and for Hogan - he failed to recapture his form and managed to find the net just once in 13 games over the rest of the campaign.
He played 48 more times for Villa, scoring nine goals, and had loan spells at Sheffield United (a January 2019 deadline day move), Stoke and Birmingham City.
Hogan enjoyed his most prolific spell in years while at Villa’s neighbours, so they made the move permanent in September 2020.
This season has been his best since Brentford, with nine goals in 23 Championship appearances so far.
# JEFF HENDRICK (Newcastle to QPR, January 2022)
After a disappointing time at Newcastle, the decision was made to loan Jeff Hendrick to QPR for the second-half of the 2021/22 season.
But he struggled to impress at Loftus Road and a permanent offer wasn’t forthcoming.
# SHANE LONG (Southampton to Bournemouth, January 2021)
Having failed to score in 14 appearances for Southampton during the first-half of the 2020/21 campaign, Shane Long was loaned out to Bournemouth, where he managed just two goals in 12 Championship games.
# ANDY REID (three deadline day moves)
Andy Reid is Ireland’s Mr Deadline Day, having moved three times in the dying hours of the January transfer window - in 2005, 2008 and 2011.
First up was his move from Nottingham Forest to Tottenham, along with Michael Dawson, for a combined fee of €10m.
After a promising start at White Hart Lane, he made only 27 appearances in a season and a half, before moving to Charlton in August 2006.
A couple of successful seasons at The Valley encouraged Sunderland to fork out €6m for the winger on deadline day in January 2008.
He made an immediate impact, coming on as a substitute against Wigan and providing an assist for Daryl Murphy on his debut.
Over three years, he played 80 times for the Black Cats and scored six goals, before his deadline day move to Blackpool in 2011, signing until the end of the season.
That one didn’t work out, however, and Reid returned to Forest at the end of the season.
# ROBBIE KEANE (two deadline day moves)
For two years running, Robbie Keane moved on deadline day - in 2009 and 2010.
The first one spelled the end of a disappointing and brief spell at his childhood heroes Liverpool.
The Reds managed to recoup €15m of the €23m they paid Tottenham just months earlier, when the Dubliner headed back to White Hart Lane.
Keane wasn’t as prolific on his return, scoring just five goals in 14 appearances over the remainder of that season.
The following year, he went on-loan from Tottenham to Celtic, where he hammered home 16 goals in 19 appearances for the Bhoys, winning the club’s Player of the Year award.
# KEITH ANDREWS (two deadline day moves)
Now on Stephen Kenny’s senior coaching ticket, Andrews moved on deadline day in January 2012 from Blackburn to West Brom and in 2015 on-loan from Bolton to MK Dons.
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