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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Nick Ames (now), Ed Aarons and Ben Fisher (earlier)

Moura joins Spurs; Giroud, Batshuayi, Aubameyang deals go through: transfer deadline day – as it happened

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has signed for Arsenal, Olivier Giroud has gone to Chelsea and Michy Batshuayi has been loaned to Dortmund.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has signed for Arsenal, Olivier Giroud has gone to Chelsea and Michy Batshuayi has been loaned to Dortmund. Composite: Getty/Getty/Getty

Ach, it’s not going to happen, is it.

We shall close this blog for the evening, for the month and for this transfer window. Thanks for reading.

For all the deals that have gone through in Europe’s top five leagues this month, check out our transfer interactive. Enjoy!

Nothing is happening. We’re in some sort of weird admin limbo. There are still a few deals in the ether, neither complete nor not complete. Who will be January’s Adrien Silva?

Nick A mentioned them a bit earlier but the busiest bunnies of the day have surely been Nottingham Forest. Aitor Karanka has been in place for a couple of weeks now and that’s clearly been long enough to decide that he needed to clean house: in the last 48 hours of the transfer window, they’ve signed seven and got rid of six, with more of both apparently on the way.

The late deals are trickling in: Crystal Palace have confirmed the signing of striker Alexander Sørloth from FC Midtjylland. Excited? YES. YES YOU ARE.

There’s still a little bit more to come – so for anyone tearing their hair out about Palace’s totemic new striker, their incoming cat of a shot stopper or Everton’s defensive colossus from Man City, Nick Miller will be on hand to see this to the bitter end. It’s been eventful, hasn’t it? Don’t go away ...

That last bit re Powell is interesting – a once hugely-vaunted talent now back on the way up ...

Updated

Mauricio Pellegrino has revealed that Southampton’s move for Spartak Moscow winger Quincy Promes broke down due to financial reasons. The player was keen, but Saints were reluctant to pay his €30m release clause up front. “It’s a player that we had been following in the past but right now it’s too difficult, financially,” the Southampton manager said. “No, [they] didn’t accept the bid. They didn’t accept our bids.”

Meanwhile, Chris Hughton was a bit sheepish when asked about Brighton’s rejected bids for Nick Powell, once of Manchester United. They twice tried and failed for him. “He even said to me, ‘if you do get an offer, just reject it’,” said the Wigan chairman, David Sharpe.

Confirmation of this ...

An Everton move that wasn’t the one we’re all waiting up for! Muhamed Besic has joined Middlesbrough on loan.

So we’re waiting on ... what .... Palace and Everton now? Sorloth and perhaps the Danish goalkeeper Ronnow, as well as Mangala.

Fulham, strengthening nicely tonight, have signed right-back Cyrus Christie from Middlesbrough.

I see what you mean on the second point, especially as Oliver Burke has already seen how hard it is to plug into the very specific things Leipzig demand. It won’t be easy at all. On the language front, though ... nah, everyone there will be able to speak English if he needs it.

Updated

Benik Afobe has joined his old club Wolves – nailed on for promotion of course – on loan from Bournemouth, where it hasn’t quite worked out.

But this ... this would melt the hardest heart:

Hugill has a good story, actually, that I’m sure will be told more extensively in the days and weeks to come. Four and a half years ago he was playing for Whitby Town. He’s got to the top the hard way and nobody should scoff at that.

Done deal – Jordan Hugill joins West Ham from Preston

The Hammers get their target man in a transfer that I find ... surprising. It’s a dead heat with Madine for the weirdest deal of the day.

Claude Puel has claimed Riyad Mahrez’s Leicester City team-mates will help him smile again and “enjoy his football” following his thwarted attempts to join Manchester City on deadline day. Mahrez was absent as Leicester were beaten at Everton and his club priced the Premier League leaders out of a deal for the Algeria international. But, despite submitting the second transfer request of his Leicester career, Puel insisted Mahrez would be welcomed back into the fold without question.

The Leicester manager said: “We know the situation and we can understand Riyad’s reaction of course. It’s a difficult situation for Riyad and for the club. I think it was harsh for us, difficult for me, for the squad, for the player. But of course I have confidence in the owner taking a good decision for the future and after we will see with Riyad when he can come back with us. All of the players and the staff will help him to come back with a smile and to enjoy his football. He is a fantastic player and a good man. Of course, for the moment I need to speak with Riyad because a lot has happened.”

Done deal – Islam Slimani joins Newcastle on loan from Leicester

Leicester continue clearing the decks – remember they’ve loaned out Ahmed Musa too – and Rafa gets his man. But will it be enough?

Done deal – Andy King joins Swansea on loan from Leicester

That is a very good signing, in my view.

Ric Arthur with more Arsenal balance:

“As a lifelong Arsenal supporter I am far from ‘triumphant’. Wenger hardly ever played 2 centre forwards: not Giroud and Podolski, hardly ever Giroud and Walcott (although when he did they made some spectacular combination goals), and never Giroud and Lacazette. Now he has 2 centre-forwards instead. When what we needed was not more little bodies at the top end, but some more substantial ones at the back. Our main backs are fine, but the whole shape of the team is hopeless, with 7 or more players standing around between the opposing massed defence and the half-way line, and Giroud, the best target man in the game, watching from the bench until too late.”

Sky’s reporter at Palace, doing a sterling job standing in the cold at Beckenham it must be said, is laying it on a little thick in breaking it to fans that they won’t be getting Amadou. It was delivered like awful news from a doctor. I’m wouldn’t worry overly – it’s no slight on anyone to say that the majority won’t know what they are missing.

Mitrovic links up with his compatriot Jokanovic.

It is a very English way of thinking, isn’t it, and still a very Premier League one in my view – “how could anyone possibly learn anything anywhere else?”.

“As an Arsenal supporter I’m furious about Giroud to Chelsea,” writes a furious Wade Howland.

“I may have a slight man-crush on the HFB, but football-wise it’s dumb beyond measure having already helped strengthen Man Utd this window. Our shiny new toys don’t hide the fact we’re far from top 4 quality, with a manager who seems completely in denial that the game has passed him by.

“It’s 9.45am here and I’m sitting at work on a black metal and black coffee bender, and the rank stupidity of what Arsenal has done is only getting worse.”

Ouch! Interesting to hear this though – as I said earlier, their assistance to rivals in this window has been a gamble.

Aaaaand another Liverpool loanee – Harry Wilson out to Hull!

Sky say four Premier League clubs have been granted a two-hour extension to seal deals ...

Not sure the Eurostar runs this late – there’s always the ferry. It was worth a go, Ibrahim ...

Derby have signed Chelsea’s Kasey Palmer – who did well at Huddersfield last term, I recall – on loan. Not the kind of transfer Chelsea usually deal in, etc etc.

“Any word on Jonny Evans to Arsenal?” asks Matthew Sommer. I think the Gunners made a late play but it was never really on.

Another loan mover from Liverpool – Lazar Markovic, once such a prospect and now a serial loanee, has gone to Anderlecht.

Oh, and the window is officially SHUT! But I sense a rush of Done Deals in the next couple of hours ...

“Who’s had a GREAT window?” is a question I’m hearing. We don’t know! It’s moot! It’ll come out in the wash. That’s why the whooping and hollering and high-fiving around Arsenal, in particular, has felt a bit odd today. It could go brilliantly – with Aubameyang anyone has a chance – but the signings of Ozil and Sanchez were always offset somewhat by the fact there was so much wrong elsewhere. And there remains so much wrong elsewhere, as anyone who can cast their mind back 26 hours will remember. The optimism is good, and valid, but some of the triumphalism and celebration – and I’m not just talking about Arsenal now – is so odd.

Updated

Aitor Karanka has been busy today!

The Sky reporters spending their evenings inside empty stadia – Turf Moor, the Vitality, the Amex – where nothing is happening are ... stalwarts.

Martin Braithwaite has left Middlesbrough to join Gus Poyet’s Bordeaux – who had wanted another Dane, Nicklas Bendtner – on loan.

Interesting quotes from Allardyce, those, weren’t they? And very interesting that Lookman drove the move to Germany hard.

Sam Allardyce, speaking immediately after Everton’s 2-1 defeat of Leicester City, said Eliaquim Mangala’s loan move from Manchester City is “very close. Or it should be, he’s been here long enough.”

The Everton manager was interesting on Ademola Lookman’s surprise loan move to RB Leipzig and Davy Klaassen’s failed loan move to Napoli.

On Lookman, he said: “It was one of the most unusual situations I’ve been in. We got some deals for him but he chose Germany. It was his choice. For a young player to go to Germany without speaking the language is a massive challenge. We tried to persuade him not to go as it’s a big challenge for his development. We wanted him to go out on loan to play first team football every week - there were better opportunities for that - but he was stubborn and got what he wanted. I hope he proves us all wrong and is very successful over there because then he can push for the team here next season.

As for Klaassen, Allardyce explained: “It was a weird situation with Klaassen. Something about a sporting contract was the difficulty. He has a sporting contract with a sporting company and that was part of the reason it failed. God knows how. I can’t expand on any more than that. It was one of the best moves he could have got in Europe. We’re disappointed but he should be more disappointed than us because he’s not going to be playing for Napoli who are going for the Italian league.”

Only 18 minutes of the window to go! But just to reiterate, there’s no need to despair if the big deal you were after hasn’t been announced by then – paperwork submitted in the final few hours and minutes often doesn’t get signed off until some while later.

Lasse Nielsen, who helped us earlier, wants to add some balance to the Sorloth doubters:

“I see people calling Sorloth overpriced. If you rate the Danish Superliga slightly below the Dutch Eresdivise, as many people do, things start to make more sense. Feyenoord were holding out for 20€ mil euro for the topscorer of last season, in the Dutch league. Nicolai Jorgensen. If you agree, that Sorloth is the most valuable player in the Superliga, and if you consider the timing of the deal, the price seems about right.

“CP are getting a young striker brimming with confidence. Should be easy to integrate. A Norwegian international. And look easy to offload, should things not work out. Consider that, against, if he’s making, maybe, a 5-10% difference in CPs chances of staying up. And all that comes with staying up. Worth it, no?”

It sounds as if Ibrahim Amadou is this year’s Peter Odemwingie; he’s come to Palace on the Eurostar to sort himself a deal, it appears, while calling Lille and begging them to let him go. No dice thus far. But fair play for the effort – travelling to another country to force your move through.

Big move for John Bostock, who’s made a nice career for himself in Belgium and France, and now moves to Turkey.

Sky say that Jack Colback will join Nottingham Forest on loan from Newcastle. Something something not too far south for him then something something.

They also suggest Aleksandar Mitrovic’s imminent loan destination is Fulham.

“I understand that Anderlecht pulled out of the deal with West Ham for Leander Dendoncker,” says Jacob Steinberg.

At least he knows whose path *not* to follow. And Cardiff, for their part, know well the follies of overspending on a centre-forward ...

Wolves have signed the very highly rated Coventry midfielder Ben Stevenson. It’s all going off in the second tier! Nothing, for me, can beat the Madine deal for pure egregiousness tonight though.

Here’s a Championship move that *has* happened. Funny player, Grabban, isn’t he – sort of trapped in an inbetween state between the top two tiers, unsure quite where he belongs. Could help get Villa up though.

One or two rumours linking Sheffield Wednesday’s deadline day staple Jordan Rhodes with a late move away. Bolton now have a lot – a LOT! – of money from Cardiff for Gary Madine so they might be in a position to kick a mini merry-go-round off if they can replace him within the hour ...

Couple of loans that could yet happen tonight. Andy King from Leicester to Swansea still might be on – as might Jon Flanagan from Liverpool to Bolton.

More interesting info on the apparently overpriced Sorloth – who should be confirmed at Palace soon.

Meantime, Palace have let forward Freddie Ladapo join Southend on a permanent deal.

The same source also says Slimani appears to be done – after all that doubt earlier!

The Actual Football has pretty much finished. So I’d like your full attention now, please, on the things that really matter. What’s happening to Jordan Hugill?

“If Mourinho hurries there’s still time for him to offload Phil Jones onto some unsuspecting club! And maybe Fellaini too ...” writes a wishful Mike MacKenzie, who has doubtlessly just watched Man United play absolutely awfully in losing 2-0 at Spurs.

Current vibes are that Ibrahim Amadou will not be going anywhere – not to West Ham, we knew that already, but not to Palace either. Lille seem determined not to lose him.

Nottingham Forest have been busy today. They’ve signed two old Premier League favourites. Welcome back, Costel Pantilimon and Ashkan Dejagah!

Some of tonight’s results – and I’ll continue not to provide spoilers – add to the sense that this is a ridiculous day to hold Premier League games. Or to hold deadline day. Either/or.

More on West Ham’s Dendoncker dalliance.

A bit of a lull in the evening’s (transfer) action. But those who delight in the scratch of pen on paper have been spoiled enough already, no? Aubameyang! Batshuayi! Giroud! Moura!

A reminder that the window SLAMS SHUT in one hour and 37 minutes – so 11pm UK time. Although we know from bitter experience that confirmations can keep trickling through for hours afterwards ... or several months later if you are Adrien Silva.

“Ayew fee is £18m rising to £20m,” elaborates Jacob.

And there is more: “It’s sounding very, very, very, very, very, very unlikely that Leander Dendoncker will be signing for West Ham.”

I get the impression that one might be dead in the water.

Andre Ayew back to Swansea confirmed

Just as Jacob told you.

I promised not to share the score of Chelsea v Bournemouth, so I won’t, but any interested parties might want to get over here sharpish:

More Sorloth madness! One wonders whether this is yet another case of a Premier League club hurling massive cash around willy nilly on little more than a punt.

Outstanding Sorloth trivia!

This fee has not been announced. I saw sums north of £5m mentioned earlier today. If that’s true then I ... uhhhh ... well ...

Mitrovic to Anderlecht seems, indeed, to be off – which I’m guessing does not bode well for Newcastle’s efforts to sign Slimani ...

Ndiaye joined Stoke for €16m. That’s very unusual. Very unusual because the club was nice enough to make the fee public.

Tottenham have just paraded Lucas Moura in front of a Wembley crowd that, by and large, have a lot to to be happy about so far tonight.

Done deal! Stoke sign Badou Ndiaye

As ever, happy to crowdsource your input on what Ndiaye – a graduate of the Diambars academy, co-founded by Patrick Vieira – can add.

“Deadline day AND matches?” asks Ian Sargeant, who knows full well that this is the ludicrousness we are faced with tonight.
“Refreshers and tangfastics are snacks? Sweets surely? If it’s snacks you’re after then onion bahjis with a(n un)healthy dollop of lime pickle. Spicy import with added zest for a tired consumer. Think Joao Mario to West Ham.

“If it’s sweets then a 1/4 lb of wine gums. The sweet Haribos want to be. If we were to swap I’d be getting your Mkhitaryan for my Sanchez. A wannabe in England v a proven performer.”

My Mkhitaryan is providing me with a new lease of life, as it happens.”

Updated

Edward Ricketts has beaten me to some more detailed information on that last entry: “Belgian newspaper Le Soir is reporting that Slimani has failed his medical at Newcastle, meaning that Mitrovic’s loan move back to Anderlecht is now not happening (the latter seems to be in Belgium as we speak)....”.

This is good teamwork. The responsible face of citizen journalism.

Updated

Newcastle Twitter is alive with concern Slimani has failed his medical. I mean, he’s no panacea and it just shows how desperate people get for a signing, any signing if we’re to pretend he is ... but imagine if Newcastle come away empty-handed today. We’ll try and clear this up as and when ...

No spoilers! Keep this window open! I beg you!

West Brom are said to have rejected a late approach from Arsenal for Johnny Evans. The Gunners seem to have gone in for a couple of centre-backs after getting their biggest business done earlier, but it’s unlikely to happen on that front in this window. Is their squad a bit top-heavy now, quality-wise?

Crystal Palace have agreed a fee for Sorloth. 10m Euros up front, with potentially 8m in add-ons. Paperwork pending, should happen before the cut-off.

That’s because Phil Jones has just put away a sensational finish ... for Tottenham, who lead Manchester United 2-0.

“Hearing that Andre Ayew to Swansea is done” says Jacob Steinberg. Big return to the Liberty Stadium for Ayew the Older.

Yes, it’s a fair point because Sky have gracefully accepted defeat and are focusing on tonight’s games as things stand. No sign of the yellow tie, though he surely can’t be far away.

Should be news, over the next few hours, of Jordan Hugill, Islam Slimani and Alexander Sorloth, among others. What is it, pray tell, that has brought us full circle back to the days of the big No9? I’m not complaining, I like it – but theorise away, if you wish ...

“The generous Giroud-to-Chelsea was simply a karmic adjustment for the kindly Cech-to-Arsenal; honour satisfied on all sides (though given recent events, the balance now requires Giroud to score a few own goals for his new side),” calculates Charles Antaki.

Cotter hit the headlines in Ireland a year or two back for being a Neymar lookalike, which was plausible at the time, but these shots suggest he’s reined that in – perhaps for the best when Mick McCarthy is your new boss.

Simon McMahon provides a Scottish update. A world-weary update, but still an update:

“Just in case you missed it, Scottish Championship also rans Dundee United have signed Grant Gillespie from Hamilton, to add to their already bloated, over paid and under achieving squad. To be honest, they’d have been as well signing Gary Gillespie. Deadline Day? Dead loss day, more like.”

Tottenham have scored against Manchester United within 11 seconds! Real Football is the best, isn’t it, really? Come and see Scott Murray for more:

Does she know how to track midfield runners?

“They are signing young players which implies the Bundesliga clubs believe they are better at player development,” notes Scott Wedel of my point about Lookman and Oxford below. That was what I meant, actually – I was despairing at Premier League clubs’ inability to trust young players rather than denigrating the standard of the German top flight. Wasn’t clear though!

Updated

Hearts broken, Gooners? There is a serious point here actually – it’s undoubtedly a gamble to sell another battle-hardened, proven Premier League performer to a direct rival isn’t it? Especially given that Giroud is such an obviously effective Plan B. Who’s Plan B now? I doubt Aubameyang or Lacazette are there for that role.

Most of the Premier League kick-offs have now ... errrr ... kicked off and from hereon it all gets slightly confusing unless, like me, you have a STEELY FOCUS on all things deadline day. The fact that a club is playing now does not preclude them signing a player, of course.

“Tangfastics are all well and good, but surely dove Refreshers are the order of the day ... you can replicate that Allardyce chomping motion as the deals pour in,” writes Iain Gray, and now I feel very ill.

What would be your deadline day snack of choice?

And another loan. Liverpool’s very bright prospect Ovie Ejaria goes to Sunderland.

Another departure from the top flight – Oli McBurnie, a very decent young Swansea striker, has joined Moneyballin’ Barnsley on loan.

“Olivier Giroud has just taken his seat behind the dugouts at Stamford Bridge,” reports Dominic Fifield, who is there to see Chelsea v Bournemouth.

So that’s Reece Oxford and Ademola Lookman both off to German clubs on loan today. They can say hello to the not-on-loan Jadon Sancho. It comes to something, doesn’t it, when the fifth and seventh-placed teams in the Bundesliga are so keen to get their hands on players barely used by – let’s call a spade a spade – not-very-good Premier League sides.

Two days after Sam Allardyce announced Ademola Lookman would not be leaving Everton on loan, Everton have announced Ademola Lookman has left on loan. The talented young winger, who has not been given much of a look-in this season, has joined RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga. The 20-year-old has made 16 appearances for Everton this season but following the recent arrival of Theo Walcott, plus Yannick Bolasie’s return to fitness, his first team chances look limited under Allardyce. In other news, Seamus Coleman makes his first senior appearance in 10 months tonight in Everton’s Premier League game against Leicester City.

There are rumours, I’m told by Jacob Steinberg, that Hugill to West Ham is done – when we know for sure, you’ll know for sure.

To add to that, the Hammers think Crystal Palace have pipped them to Lille’s Ibrahim Amadou.

Updated

We cover all levels, we do, and Murphy is – like Olivier Giroud! – an Ex-Arsenal Striker.

That’s better. There is a third live blog running this evening, and for some of you it may well take top billing – it’s Tottenham v Manchester United, courtesy of the great man Scott Murray:

Give me five minutes or so – I’m just going to go and stock up on some provisions for the evening. Barry’s Tangfastics are going to be what I use to get over the line in a few hours’ time but there is a more immediate need. One has to plan for these things.

Are you a football fan? Then please join Barry for some football:

One of several content Spurs fans I’m hearing from.

I’m informed by Dominic Fifield that Sorloth is at Palace’s offices as we speak ...

Leander Dendoncker is still in Belgium, twiddling his thumbs. Time is of the essence now. West Ham rate their chances of signing the Anderlecht midfielder at 50-50. Meanwhile Andre Ayew is so very close to completing his move to Swansea. All that’s left is the final pieces of paperwork.

And now a done deal for Watford. One for Udinese the future, I suspect ...

Yet another striker has left Arsenal – this time it’s Chuba Akpom on loan to Belgian side Sint-Truiden. He’s another who needs to get his career properly up and running now.

We like experts on this blog. Which is a good job, because otherwise you’d be dealing purely with me all evening. So here is some genuine expertise from Danish reader Lasse Nielsen, who has some thoughts worth reading on the Crystal Palace target Alexander Sorloth:

“Sorloth was originally bought to FC Midtjylland, as a back-up striker for, at the time, primary sales object, Paul Onouachu (who some people might remember from their Europa League matches against Man Utd – 201 cm tall he is).

“Onouachu caught an injury early in the season, and Sorloth made the most of that opportunity. As he grew in confidence during the season, the Danish league saw something extraordinary. Big, strong, good header, capable of using both feet. Showed great composure in front of goal, and some inspired finishes. Decent in the buildup too.

“Used primarily as a forward or inside winger, he notched up 10 goals and eight assists in the fall season. He was recently voted the best player in the Danish Superliga by his peers.”

Updated

PSG top dog Nasser Al-Khelaifi has this to say about Moura (*tunes up string section*): “He is a player who will always be remembered with affection by the fans. He always gave his best to help the team win. The club enabled him to reach Europe’s top level & we shared some beautiful moments.”

Tottenham Hotspur, of course, play some “football” in the “Premier League” at 8pm – so I hope you can all refocus by then.

Happy with that, Spurs fans? For me, Moura isn’t a guaranteed starter but what he does do is credibly enhance the depth of that squad – which has been a problem in some areas under Pochettino.

Done deal – Tottenham sign Lucas Moura

And this how they let you know:

Another departure from Arsenal – Saint-Etienne sign Mathieu Debuchy!

One of the drier announcement videos, there; for a horrible moment I felt I was back in GCSE history.

Ipswich’s England Under-19 midfielder Flynn Downes has joined League Two top dogs Luton on loan for the rest of the season, which might be a nice move for everyone. There’s a bit of talk that Crystal Palace might yet go back in for the Suffolk club’s goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski tonight – more if we get it ...

Barry is still here because there are, of course, seven Premier League games taking place tonight. It’s a farce, isn’t it, that Actual Football and this biannual circus have to compete for each other’s attention like this. I’m interested to hear – no judgment! – what you’re more looking forward to keeping your eye on tonight.

The exceptionally kind Barry Glendenning, whose excellent Fiver you really must read, has just walked back into the office and handed me a packet of Haribo Tangfastics. I’ll be sprinting around Kings Place by midnight.

In one digestible chunk, here’s the full story of that Mahrez/Man City no-go:

A transfer from the Championship now: Hull have signed defender Angus MacDonald from Barnsley for an undisclosed fee.

While we wait for some more movement, luxuriate in this. It’s our transfer window club-by-club guide to all the top five leagues – and includes an update on Pogba!

That’s Florentin Pogba. But there’s plenty to see and do in there, so take a look.

Fabrizio knows. Transfer deadline day devastation for Arsenal Transfer fans.

West Ham are confident that a deal for Jordan Hugill will happen after Fyodor Smolov turned them down. The Preston striker, who is valued at £8m, is expected to have a medical soon.

Sounds as if Jeffrey Reine-Adelaide – sorry, “The Jeff” – is joining Angers on loan from Arsenal. He’s one of those players you hear bits of excitement about but has never really done anything; at 20, this could be a good move for him.

If only they could have brought in ... wait for it ... Arjen ROBBEN to act as his attacking sidekick!

West Ham defender Reece Oxford will return to Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach on loan for the rest of the season – he didn’t really play much in his first spell but everyone seemed to say very nice things about each other.

In my experience, players tend to love watching it on the telly and laughing themselves hoarse. But not tonight – at least 154 Premier League players will be playing!

Whoever does Ozil’s Twitter account is such a wag!

Understand that City never made even one bid for Mahrez, there were informal discussions, Leicester City made a proposal worth £95m this morning and City walked away. Their absolute “top valuation of player was £60m”, no more. And: Mahrez was a target for long-term position of wide player post-Sanchez not happening, not a short-term fix because of Sane’s ankle injury.

True (it was already a ludicrous sum but yes, we are where we are). I suspect in these situations there is the hope that if the player agitates hard enough, the move might happen with a few million off. Not here!

Take Aubameyang out of the equation and today’s theme is Big Strikers, isn’t it? Who’d have thought it! Hugill to West Ham and Sorloth to Palace sound like possibilities, whether well-advised ones or not. If you have any thoughts on a player in the transfer mix tonight – or even better, insights – then do drop me a line. I don’t know Sorloth all that well, for example, but maybe you do*.

*A couple of strong seasons on Football Manager won’t count.

Early confirmation from Jamie there, then, of something we won’t be tying ourselves in knots about this evening. How do Mahrez and Leicester come back from this though? My guess is “with a frosty co-habitation until May, followed by an expedient split”.

Man City have pulled out of Mahrez deal as Leicester City were after a package worth £95m, it is understood.

Yes, hello everyone. Ed is lying down in the Guardian’s purpose-built Darkened Room as we speak. Only seems five months since I last steered this empty vessel home ... and that’s because it was, actually. Plenty of deals still to be done, I fancy; do send your emails and tweets in, too, and we can have a nice chat about things as we go.

Ok that’s it from me today. I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Nick Ames, who will no doubt keep you all informed with everything that happens between now and 11pm (and for a little bit afterwards if you’re lucky). Thanks for your company and enjoy!

Some reports now that Manchester City have ended their attempt to sign Riyad Mahrez from Leicester. According to Sky Sports News, their valuation was too high and the Algerian will now stay at the King Power Stadium. More on this when we get it...

Aubameyang sounds like he is feeling a little guilty. The Gabon striker has posted a message to BVB fans apologising for his behaviour and admitting he is “a crazy kid”.

The translation goes something like this:

“First of all sorry for everything that happened in the last month. But I wanted to change last summer, it did not work, but now it had to be. Maybe it was not the best way I chose, but everyone knows that Auba is crazy - and yes, I’m a crazy kid, hahahaha! I’ve made mistakes, but never with malice. I will never forget these four and a half years at Borussia Dortmund, because you all gave me the strength for the level I am now. Thanks to the whole BVB family, the fans, the club, the staff and of course my teammates! Your Auba17 !!!”

Barry Glendenning is an excitable chap at the best of times. So imagine what he’s been like today? Here he is with the latest edition of the Fiver as we wait for more news. Enjoy

Arsenal have bid farewell to Giroud with this lovely message. I think he will be missed...

Looks like Swansea have opted to sign Andy King from Leicester on loan, meaning a move for Lazar Markovic will not happen. More when we get it...

Michy Batshuayi joins Borussia Dortmund on loan

And here’s Michy Batshuayi with a Dortmund shirt. He has signed on loan until the end of the season

Updated

Some evidence that Giroud is now a Chelsea player has now emerged. Here he is with his new No18 shirt

Crystal Palace are still frantically negotiating the potential arrival of up to three new players to bolster Roy Hodgson’s squad and steer the team to Premier League safety. Talks continue with Midtjylland over a fee for their 22-year-old Norway international forward, Alexander Sorloth, while reports in Spain suggest that the London club’s chances of securing the goalkeeper Vicente Guaita from Getafe have been boosted. The Spanish club are understood to be close to securing Miguel Ángel Moyá from Atlético Madrid as a replacement, a move which would then see them sanction Guaita’s departure.

Should that deal to Palace fail to materialise today, then it is likely to be revived in the summer. Palace have interest, too, in Lille’s Ibrahim Amadou whom they hope to secure initially on loan for a fee of around £2m, with the move to be made permanently for a further £14m in the summer if the Londoners stay up. It has all gone suspiciously quiet on the mooted interest in Fenerbahce’s Ozan Tufan, who may have alternative offers from Spain. Tick tock.

Don’t rule it out yet, but West Ham’s move for Anderlecht’s Leander Dendoncker is yet to progress. The player would like the transfer do happen. Can the relevant parties sort it out?

THE DREAM IS OVER!

It looks like West Ham may have found their striker, according to the BBC

Here’s the full story on Giroud’s move to Chelsea that has allowed Aubameyang to join Arsenal.

But it’s all quiet so far on the south coast, with Bournemouth, Brighton and Southampton yet to get involved. Any move for Quincy Promes looks like it’s on hold until the summer...

Could West Ham be closing in on another signing? Reports in Belgium suggest they may be:

A real shame he didn’t live up to his name...

More news to get the Arsenal fans excited. Apparently your spending spree may not be over just yet:

Lots of you sharing your views on Giroud’s departure. It seems he is a player who has always split opinion...

Olivier Giroud signs for Chelsea!

Olivier Giroud has completed his £17.5m move to Chelsea and has signed an 18-month contract at Stamford Bridge. The France striker is expected to wear the No18 shirt at his new club, with his arrival to be followed by confirmation of Michy Batshuayi’s loan transfer to Borussia Dortmund. Chelsea have employed a strict policy of not offering long-term deals or contract extensions to players who are over 30, but have only bent their rules slightly to secure Giroud, 31.

He will be in the same position in the summer as the likes of David Luiz, Cesc Fabregas and Pedro with a year to run on their respective deals, which may prompt negotiations over a 12-month extension. AS Roma’s Edin Dzeko, whom Chelsea had courted earlier in the window, had been demanding a deal through to at least 2020.

Giroud should be in the stands tonight as the champions take on AFC Bournemouth, and ends a rather scattergun pursuit of a striker to ease the work-load on Alvaro Morata, with the likes of Andy Carroll, Dzeko and, on an agent’s advice, Peter Crouch having previously been considered. Official confirmation of Giroud’s arrival is imminent.

Lots of mooted transfers falling at the final hurdle. It’s really getting towards squeaky bum time now.

Liverpool fan Sam Trenery has dropped us a line to say how much he is enjoying a stress-free transfer deadline day.

“Having apparently got all our business sorted now (bar selling Markovic, which with all due respect doesn’t come as a shock), I’m looking forward to a quiet end to the window.
Must confess to a bit of mild surprise at Ozil signing an extension: he must be rather more excited by Aubameyang’s arrival than some Arsenal fans I’ve spoken to. Or perhaps he’s just an optimist?”

Sunderland’s move for Andy Lonergan, the Leeds reserve goalkeeper has fallen through leaving Chris Coleman running out of time. Coleman earlier tried to sign Eldin Jakupovic, who shone for Hull in the Premier League last season, but Leicester City were unwilling to let their second choice go.

And it’s also bad news for West Ham supporters who were hoping to see Fyodor Smolov at the London Stadium. His club say he is going nowhere (apparently)

Bad news for Internazionale fans. It looks like their attempt to sign Javier Pastore from PSG has fallen by the wayside.

Davy Klaassen’s proposed loan move to Napoli is off. Everton’s £23.6m summer signing from Ajax will now stay at Goodison Park and fight for a place that, under Sam Allardyce, does not exist.

Sounds like Lazar Markovic could still be on his way to Swansea but they haven’t confirmed it yet. Perhaps Huw Jenkins has his hands full with the Ayew deal? Let’s see what happens...

It seems that Preston striker Jordan Hugill is on his way. But will it be to West Ham, Palace or someone else?

Andre Ayew’s £20m move to Swansea is almost done. West Ham are still trying to get a replacement in. Has anyone seen Fyodor Smolov near an airport?

Remember to keep you contributions coming in. I’ve got two more hours on duty before handing over to my colleague Nick Ames so let us know how you are enjoying transfer deadline day so far.

We’re hearing that Olivier Giroud’s move to Chelsea is now complete. Official confirmation that the France striker will move to Stamford Bridge from Arsenal on an 18-month contract will be along very soon...

Updated

Sky are reporting that Leicester have received a fourth bid for Riyad Mahrez from Manchester City. It includes an as yet unnamed player and is said to be worth a total of £65m. Will that tempt the Foxes into selling? They have less than eight hours to decide...

They just can’t make their minds up! But does this mean West Ham have found someone?

Some suggestions in France that Crystal Palace have made a new offer to sign Ibrahim Amadou from Lille. The versatile defender/midfielder is also on West Ham’s shopping list.

Apparently it’s a £1m offer to loan him until the end of the season, with an option to buy between £13m and £14m in the summer - but only if Palace stay in the Premier League.

Gareth Southgate’s Godson, Freddie Woodman, has left Newcastle United for Aberdeen on loan. The star of England Under-20s World Cup win last summer badly needs game time and Derek McInnes, Aberdeen’s manager, will throw him in at the deep end as replacement for the injured Joe Lewis. Brendan Rodgers wanted to take Woodman on loan to Celtic but has lost out to McInnes and Aberdeen. Newcastle, of course, are taking the Slovakia keeper Martin Dubravka on loan from Sparta Prague with a view to a permanent deal.


Meanwhile Aleksandar Mitrovic is in Brussels standing by to complete a return to his former club Anderlecht once Islam Slimani passes his Newcastle medical. Slimani has apparently arrived with a slight thigh strain but it is not thought to be a major worry and he could make his debt at home to Manchester United on Sunday week. Although his eight goals in 35 appearances for Leicester is not overly fantastic, Slimani did only start eight of those fixtures.


Jack Colback, Rafael Benítez’s unwanted midfielder who has been exiled to train with the juniors for the past few months, has been offered to Nottingham Forest. Aitor Karanka is thought to quite like the left footer but will Colback be prepared to leave the north east? After all back in August, he turned down a mooted move to Hull, partly on the grounds it was too far south.

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It’s been a while since Chelsea loaned out a player so here’s defender Todd Kane joining Oxford. By my calculations that the 34th player to temporarily leave Stamford Bridge this season.

With Slimani incoming, Aleksandar Mitrovic is now surplus to requirements and he is on his way back to former club Anderlecht on an initial loan.

Newcastle fans have been busy tracking Islam Slimani’s private jet’s journey to Newcastle airport on Flight Radar. The Algeria striker body swerved the main terminal by landing at an adjacent private mini terminal but he is now undergoing a medical ahead of that loan move from Leicester. Will Slimani be any good? After all, despite costing £29m 18 months ago he has scored a modest eight goals in 35 games for Leicester.

Only time will tell whether the Tyneside air suits Slimani, but in a team which creates chances but all to frequently fails to polish them off, he surely has to be more prolific than Joselu, Dwight Gayle and Aleksandar Mitrovic....in other words there is reason to believe the 6ft 2 former Sporting Lisbon centre forward could be the difference between staying in the Premier League and returning to the Championship.

Here’s one that quite work out for Everton, although 276 minutes in the Premier League was hardly enough to prove Sandro Ramírez is not up to it. Sevilla have now confirmed his loan move:

If any of you are wondering about where to catch a glimpse of Léo Lacroix for the next few months, our transfer interactive is a handy way of keeping up with all the moves. Check it out here (ps no I’ve never heard of him either)

Here’s Marina Hyde on why football’s content era is desperately in need of new characters:

Eliaquim Mangala is currently in discussions with Everton regarding personal terms, so at the moment the French centre-back’s favoured move is to Goodison Park. However he seemed likely to go to Crystal Palace in the summer and decided against that so he may, again, decide to stay at Manchester City to the end of the season. West Ham United and Newcastle United remain options, too.

Lazar Markovic is a man in demand on deadline day, although the likelihood of Liverpool’s forgotten winger staying in the Premier League with Swansea City seems to be fading. Several European clubs remain keen on the Serbian, who has received offers from Lokomotiv Moscow and Wolfsburg this month. The move to Germany did not develop due to Markovic’s concerns over a lack of playing time, although the opportunity of a late move abroad remains for the £20m signing who had a loan spell at Hull City last season.
Liverpool’s other business today involves loan deals for young players such as Sunderland-bound Ovie Ejaria. A quiet ending.

Quite a few of you are getting in touch to discuss Samir Nasri, who is now a free agent at the age of 30.

And an honest assessment from Filip Gieldon. “Having watched Samir Nasri at Arsenal back in the day, I think there are several clubs outside the top 6 that could do well in building a team around his creativity. He is a plonker, no doubt, but God what a player he was at times.”

You wait all month for a transfer and then... Newcastle look like adding a goalkeeper to their squad today as well.

Now here’s a blast from the past, although by all accounts Bostock has been playing very well in France. Good luck to him in Turkey.

And then there’s this:

Looks like that jet was headed north east. Islam Slimani has arrived to seal his loan move from Leicester. Pleased with that Newcastle fans? And will compatriot Riyad Mahrez also be on the move? We should find out soon enough.

Mesut Özil agrees new Arsenal contract

So here’s confirmation of the story we brought you earlier. Agreed, although not yet signed. And Jack Wilshere is staying too:

One other Arsenal line to give you is that Mathieu Debuchy is expected to join Saint-Étienne after agreeing to terminate his contract in north London. Au revoir Mathieu

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Now for something a little more serious. It wasn’t that long ago that Blackpool were trading blows with the best teams in the country but have since dropped into League One after years of mismanagement. As Chris Walker has pointed out, today could be a seminal day for the club:

“I don’t see any mention yet of the big £10m transfer involving none other than Blackpool FC and a 57 year old Latvian,” he writes.
“After the Oystons lost their high court case against Valeri Belokon and were ruled to have “illegitimately stripped” (the judge’s words, before the Grauniad lawyers start sweating) the club resulting in needing to cough up £31.27m, plus legal costs, a payment plan was set out as follows:
“4th December - £10m 31st January - £10m 31st March - £7.5m 31st May - £7.5m
There’s plenty of debate about whether they’ve got the cash after they only just met the December payment, but their deadline is 4pm today, long before Jim White will pitch up at Hyperbole Towers.
“Will they transfer the cash by then? Failure to do so could mean the court appointing receivers to sell off their assets until the total balance is met. The long running ownership saga at Bloomfield Road could finally be nearing its end!”

Let’s hope so for all Seasiders.

Graham Whittington has a point to make. He’s been in touch to respond to Amy’s earlier tweet.

“Ok for Viera and Baresi but Yashin died in 1990 and even Cech is not that slow off his line.” BOOM BOOM!

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One player who is definitely on his way from Newcastle is Henry Saivet. The Senegal midfielder is joining Sivasspor on loan.

Private jet alert! But is he heading for the Toon?

Reports that Mesut Özil rejected an offer from PSG to sign his new Arsenal contract. The club have still not made that official but it seems liuke only a matter of time now. Meanwhile, Samir Nasri has terminated his contract with immediate contract with Antalyaspor, according to BeINSports. He is now a free agent and only 30. Any takers?

Some more on West Ham and Leander Dendoncker from Belgium’s fifth most famous man, Kristof Terreur.

Lots of you messaging to wish my namesake Rolando well at Hellas Verona. Let’s hope he does better than Micah Richards and Ravel Morrison did in Serie A. If he does, there could be a follow up to Tim Parks’s excellent tome A season with Verona. Working title: A half-season with Verona

West Ham appear to be stepping things up now after missing out on Islam Slimani. Jacob Steinberg has more on their pursuit of Anderlecht’s Leander Dendoncker:

One from the Championship now and Leeds have signed young striker Tyler Roberts from West Brom on a four-and-a-half year deal. The 19-year-old Wales Under 21 international has scored five goals on loan at Walsall this season.

As my former BBC colleague Piers Edwards points out, the £56m Arsenal have paid for Aubameyang makes him the most expensive African player of all time ahead of Liverpool’s Mo Salah and Naby Keïta, who will move to Anfield in the summer. But there is every chance he will be usurped later on should Mahrez move to City...

Meanwhile, Victor Burakov may have some news on Riyad Mahrez. The Algerian loves a deadline day dash having been reportedly seen in Barcelona back in August, only for the to move to fail to materialise. Now it seems he’s taking the long road to the Etihad:

Filip Gieldon is similarly excited. “Aubameyang is great business for Arsenal and even more so with Mkhitaryan at the club,” he writes via email. “Both are just under super-star class and can both very well still get there. I’m surprised if Ozil really has signed a new contract, but if so, that simply points to the new hierarchy at Arsenal, where the manager is not King anymore.

“Furhermore, to answer Brendan: this window is not about this season anymore, but about the next one, therefore this signing makes great sense. If Arsenal have just sorted their attacking and creative problems, then in the summer they will ‘only’ need to focus on the defensive shortcomings; keeper, defender and defensive midfielder . I would also bet on Arsene Wenger not being the manager next season unless he magically gets fourth or wins the Europa League... These new deals are clearly not in his vision, as was selling Walcott and now Giroud. Think the men behind the curtain finally made their move after the contract fiascos of Alexis, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ozil - expecting Jack Wilshere to sign on soon!”

Thanks for holding the fort Ben, I can report that my chicken and bacon sandwich was delicious, although me and the bloke at the cafe have yet to agree over the structure of payments. Anyway, back to Arsenal.

The whirlwind of activity down at the Emirates has understandably got a lot of you excited, including our own Amy Lawrence.

Done deal klaxon: Newcastle United winger Rolando Aarons, who started his career at Bristol City, is going on an Italian adventure. The 22-year-old has signed a loan deal with Serie A outfit Hellas Verona. It’s a nice city, to be fair. Home to the Casa di Giulietta, where Romeo promised his beloved Juliet eternal love in Shakespeare’s famous tragedy.

Updated

The Huddersfield chairman, Dean Hoyle, has been speaking, saying there will be no red-hot transfer action in west Yorkshire this afternoon. “David [Wagner] told me last week he’s happy with the squad, we believe in the team,” Hoyle said. “We have a great squad here, the team spirit and togetherness.”

Here’s an interesting done deal: Manchester City’s 19-year-old midfielder, Jacob Davenport, has signed on loan at Burton Albion until the end of the season. Davenport was named their best young player in 2016, and formerly captained their Under-18s side. “He’s highly-rated by Pep Guardiola and you won’t get a better endorsement than that,” Nigel Clough, the Championship club’s manager, said.

Reports that Swansea City and Leicester City are in talks over a loan move for Andy King. That feels left-field but could be a shrewd addition. Meanwhile, Newcastle are edging close to signing Martin Dubravka, with the Sparta Prague goalkeeper set to undergo a medical in the north-east this afternoon.

Ed has run off for a bite to eat, so you’ve got me, Ben Fisher, for a bit. In the Football League, it seems as though Nick Powell and Jordan Hugill are both in demand, with Brighton and Crystal Palace respectively among those interested.

Updated

While you digest that news (which we are just trying to confirm), here’s some lunchtime reading on Aubameyang, starting with the day he was marked by a non-league defender...

Here’s me on how he got his move to the Emirates:

Now this is big news. Reports from the reliable David Ornstein that Mesut Özil has signed a new contract with Arsenal...! What a day to be a Gooner.

Updated

Looks like being a quiet day in the the half of north London apart from the deal to sign Lucas Moura for £25m. That is expected to be confirmed by Tottenham imminently but an approach to sign André Gomes from Barcelona on loan has reportedly hit the buffers. What are your thoughts Spurs fans?

Leicester City are bracing themselves for another complicated and fraught deadline day, with Manchester City’s pursuit of Riyad Mahrez threatening to cause no end of problems. Mahrez has submitted a transfer request and is determined to join City. He has been restless at Leicester for a long time – he spent the previous deadline day at an airport and this is the second transfer request he has handed in at the club.

Leicester, however, are unhappy with City’s decision to make a move for Mahrez so late in the window and for starting the conversation over the fee at such a low level. It is understood that £45m was the first figure mentioned. Needless to say, it was dismissed out of hand. City are prepared to pay more for Mahrez but the big question is whether they will get close to Leicester’s valuation, which is likely to be north of £60m. Leicester point to the fees that have been paid elsewhere in this window – not least in relation to Coutinho and Van Dijk – to justify that sort of price tag.

From Leicester’s point of view, there is an uncomfortable sense of deju vu about all of this, given that Danny Drinkwater was pushing for a move to Chelsea on deadline day in the summer. On that occasion Leicester had a replacement lined up in the form of Adrien Silva – albeit they failed to get the paperwork done in time. This time, however, there is no contingency plan in place for Mahrez’s departure, which is another reason why they are reluctant to do business. The fallout, however, could be interesting to say the least if Mahrez fails to get his move.

An Ayew update on West Ham and Swansea from Jacob Steinberg. And it’s not great news...

Updated

Aubameyang’s move has gone down with a certain Moeen Ali. England’s spinning all-rounder thinks Arsenal have got themselves a good deal, although it turns out he is a Liverpool fan.

There was a lot of noise about Danny Ings leaving Anfield this month but Jürgen Klopp says he is staying put for now. Unless someone has a cunning plan that is....

“It would be funny if somebody calls about Ingsy - I would love to respond: No chance!” he said earlier. “We will see what happens but there is no chance that Ingsy is on the market - only if I’m unconscious. Maybe something happens. It’s clear who is a little bit (available).”

Brendan has been in touch with a salient point. Has Wenger really thought this through?

And if you didn’t see it yesterday, David Squires is clearly a big fan of transfer deadline day. Or maybe not.

Some lunchtime reading for you now. Here’s the excellent Ben Fisher on Josh Harrop making waves at Preston:

There’s quite a few other bits and bobs going on today which we should mention. We will bring you news as and when it happens.

  • Watford are expcted to complete the signing of Didier Ndong from Sunderland on loan. The Gabon midfielder is having a medical today.
  • Badou Ndiaye has passed his medical and is now expected to join Stoke for £15m.
  • Wigan have turned down an undisclosed bid from Brighton for midfielder Nick Powell.
  • Lucas Moura has completed his medical ahead of his move from Paris Saint-Germain to Tottenham.

Some reports that Palace have agreed a £9m fee for Norway striker Alexander Sorloth of FC Midtjylland but we understand that is not the case just yet. Palace had shown an interest in Preston’s Jordan Hugill as well although have yet to increase their £6m offer. Watch this space...

An update on Giroud from our Italian maestro Fabrizio Romano now and it seems like only a matter of time before his move to Chelsea is rubber-stamped...

Right onto some more of your correspondence. We’re getting a lot of concerned Newcastle fans making contact and it seems they just cannot understand what is happening.

“Following the liveblog all the way from windy Australia, and a question: what exactly is Ashley’s strategy at Newcastle? Like, what is the plan?” asks Scott Lowe. “Why not spend the extra 5 mill (which is nothing in the Premier League) and get the striker Rafa wants and maybe avoid a third relegation?”

@magicdarts is similarly bemused...

A good stat doing the rounds on Aubameyang - he has scored 100 goals for Dortumnd since the start of 2015-16 season, 45 more goals than any player has scored for Arsenal in this period. Eat that Olivier!

Here’s the full story on Aubameyang’s £56m move from Dortmund to Arsenal

Manchester United are yet to offer Luke Shaw fresh terms on the left-back’s contract that expires in summer 2019 and which does not contain any extensions that can be triggered by the club. Shaw is content at United and has no wish to leave Old Trafford, it is understood, having signed for five years in summer 2014 on a salary that made him then the world’s highest paid teenager. As Shaw is still only 22 it is a surprise United have yet not tied him to a new agreement. It is usual practise to secure any player with a lucrative sell-on value at least two years before his contract ends to protect the club’s asset.

Shaw has recently fought his way back into José Mourinho’s first-team plans, starting nine of United’s last 13 games having previously struggled to be selected in the 18-man match-day squad. However the 22-year-old remains second choice to Ashley Young, who was injured for the five Premier League matches in the sequence.

Mourinho also offered a mixed message by describing Shaw as one of the best left-backs currently playing then dropping him for the next match at Burnley on 20 January, the manager again preferring Young.

United have moved recently to tie up those players Mourinho values, with Juan Mata’s one-year extension triggered on Tuesday. Scott McTominay, who is a year younger than Shaw, and Angel Gomes, 17, also signed fresh deals with the club in the autumn.

Updated

Looks like Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc couldn’t resist a parting shot at Aubameyang: “Apart from the unpleasant episodes in the past few weeks we would like to remember that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at BVB was a real success story. In this team he performed superbly for Borussia Dortmund and scored many important goals and was part of the team that won the German Cup in 2017. We wish Pierre-Emerick all the best for his future at Arsenal.”

Updated

Not quite up there with the Besiktas video but hey ho. This must all mean the Giroud deal to Chelsea is sorted as well but at this stage we await further news. By the way, an update on today’s other potential big transfer is on the way very shortly...

And now Arsenal have confirmed it. Aubameyang is a Gooner

That works out at £56m by my calculations. Good business Arsenal fans? Please get in touch to let us know your thoughts.

Aubameyang signs for Arsenal!

And here it is. Borussia Dortmund have confirmed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has signed for Arsenal.

West Ham’s hopes of getting Islam Slimani fading. Seems Leicester aren’t keen on doing business with them. Newcastle are in pole position, although he is likely to be out for two weeks with a thigh injury.

And here’s David Hytner with another update...

Batshuayi has Dortmund medical

And now here’s some concrete evidence of Batshuayi having his Dortmund medical. It’s on...

Some news from France now involving Andrine Hegerberg and Davinia Vanmechelen, who have signed for Paris Saint-Germain. Norway international Hegerberg was previously with Birmingham.

Now we all know transfer deadline day wouldn’t be transfer deadline day without the man like Jim White. Given all the madness still to come, he’s probably still at home getting prepared for his Sky Sports News shift later on with a few lunges and stretches. While we wait for his arrival, let us take you back to a more simple time when Jim made his living by pretending he was about to get married.

Updated

According to well-connected French news outlet RMC, Michy Batshuayi has arrived in Dortmund to complete his transfer from Chelsea. He is expected to have a medical once permission is granted, with a loan until the end of the season that could yet include an option to buy. Once that is sorted, it will kick off what they describe as “un jeu de chaises musicales” (a game of musical chairs) that should see Aubameyang move to Arsenal and Giroud join Chelsea.

John Wilson’s suggestion for an Arsenal XI sold to top six rivals is going down well.

Updated

And here’s today’s Knowledge, which looks at sibling rivalry and kit clashes:

Sign up for the best of the Guardian’s sport coverage, free and sent to your inbox every Friday.

Some news from Turkey now, where Galatasaray have been making moves. Japan defender Yuto Nagatomo has arrived in Istanbul to complete his move from Internazionale, while young Belgium prospect Samuel Bastien is expected to join on loan from Chievo.

Updated

Looks like Palace’s frustrating window is going to continue. The BBC reporting a move for Martin Polacek will not go ahead.

Some injury news that is just emerging which may have an impact on some moves today. According to reports, Islam Slimani has picked up a thigh problem in training this week, which may scupper West Ham and Newcastle’s attempts to sign him. Over in Germany, Andriy Yarmolenko will miss several weeks due to an achilles injury, meaning André Schürrle will not be allowed to leave Borussia Dortmund. Swansea had been interested in taking the German international on loan.

Juan Mata has had the one-year option on his contract triggered by Manchester United to extend his stay at the club to June 2019. José Mourinho is happy. “Mata is very important. When I arrived one-and-a-half years ago, [they said], ‘Mata is in trouble, in trouble, in trouble’, and now he’s getting an extension of one more year. An important player for me; important player for the club; important player for the other players,” he told MUTV.
Mata, who joined in January 2014 as David Moyes’s second signing for a then club record £37.1m, is also content. “I still feel very happy and very proud to be part of this club. I think everyone that belongs to Manchester United should feel privileged, and that’s how I feel. I’m happy with everyone at the club and, obviously, with the manager and my team-mates. Once you are part of this club, your football career is not the same; it changes, because this is one of the biggest clubs in football history. Every day I try to tell myself how lucky and how privileged I am, try to take advantage of every single training session, and try to see how important it is to be a Manchester United player.”

Lots of you have made contact already to provide your opinion on what we can expect from today. Here’s a few to kick us off:

Swansea, out of the relegation zone following their win over Arsenal on Tuesday night, are increasingly confident of resigning André Ayew from West Ham United for £20m. Ayew, by all accounts, has made it very clear to West Ham over the last few days that he wants to leave. West Ham have an interest in Ki Sung-yueng but Swansea will not allow him to be part of any deal for Ayew. Carlos Carvalhal rates Ki highly and Swansea would rather keep the midfielder for the rest of the season and lose him on a free in the summer, when he is out of contract, as opposed to cashing in now.

Swansea are also in the market for another attacking player and believed prior to the Arsenal game that they were in position to take Sandro Ramirez on loan from Everton. However, the Spaniard opted to sign for Sevilla instead. That prompted Swansea to step up their pursuit of Lazar Markovic, although they are only interested in taking the winger on loan, not signing him permanently, which would be Liverpool’s preference. Markovic impressed while on loan at Hull City last season but the worry for Swansea, or anyone else that signs him for that matter, is that the 23-year-old has not played a competitive match for almost nine months.

Not transfer news but well a worth a minute of your time. Barcelona could be heading to the Paisley 2021 Stadium before too long.

Everyone loves a rumour, especially on transfer deadline day..! Here’s the veritable Michael Butler with today’s Rumour Mill:

So if you missed all the drama last night, Arsène Wenger inadvertently confirmed the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang transfer after his side’s defeat against Swansea. Someone from the club’s media team posted a video of the manager which was meant to be his post-match reactions but was instead Wenger waxing lyrical about the Gabon international. Oops. Here’s the full transcript and the video:

Reporter: “Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is an Arsenal player, you must be delighted to get the deal done?”

Wenger: “Yes, it is good news. We need people who can give us more offensive power. At the moment, we aren’t enough going forward and I am convinced he will give us that.

“He has a big challenge in front of him. He wants to do well in the Premier League. It is absolutely good news for us.

“His pace, his finishing. The quality of his runs. His huge physical capacity, that will be important in the Premier League.”

Last night’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace was an impressive achievement given that West Ham were without nine senior players, but it won’t stop them trying to do business today. They’re still looking for a striker - a £15m deal for FC Krasnodar’s Fyodor Smolov remains highly unlikely - and have turned their attention to Leicester’s Islam Slimani, who’s also a target for Newcastle. The Algerian is the kind of striker David Moyes is after and he’s a former team-mate of Joao Mario, who impressed on his debut against Palace.
If Slimani arrives that should allow Andre Ayew to complete his move to Swansea City. The fee’s expected to be in the region of £20m. Ayew’s preference is to leave West Ham in order to get more games elsewhere, but he’ll most likely have to stay if they can’t get anyone in up front.


Reece Oxford also wants to leave. A decision will soon be made over whether to send the youngster back to Borussia Monchengladbach on loan. Injuries might force him to stay. But West Ham are still looking for cover in midfield, with Pedro Obiang likely to be out for rest of the season. Lille’s Ibrahim Amadou, who is also a target for Palace, is one possibility. However a move for Anderlecht’s Leander Dendoncker sounds unlikely and it will take a lot of money to make Fulham think about selling Tom Cairney.

Good to see my namesake Rolando may get some football. Remember his goal against Manchester City a few years back? He’s still only 22 as well. Newcastle supporters please let us know if you think you can stay up without signing a new striker.

Newcastle United: Will Rafa Benitez sign the striker he so craves - or won’t he. That represents one of transfer deadline day’s principal questions. Benitez believes Nicolai Jorgensen, Feyenoord’s Denmark striker, is worth £20m but Mike Ashley, Newcastle’s owner will only pay £15m and the deal seems off.
He may well sign Martin Dubravka, the Slovakia goalkeeper on loan from Sparta Prague while midfielder Henri Saivet is in Turkey to finalise a loan to Sivasspor. Meanwhile winger Rolando Aarons is talking to Hull, also regarding a loan.


Meanwhile down the road at Sunderland - and what an awful defeat that was for Chris Coleman’s side at Birmingham last night - Didier Ndong, the club record £13.6m signing and a Gabon midfielder has joined Watford on loan. Young midfielder Ovie Ejaria has arrived on loan from Liverpool and Andy Lonergan, the Leeds reserve goalkeeper, is set to finalise a permanent move to Wearside.
Middlesbrough still retain promotion hopes and have taken Jack Harrison, the England Under-21 midfielder on loan from Manchester City. Harrison has just joined City from New York City.

Updated

The updates are flooding in from our team of crack reporters scattered around the country. Next up Louise Taylor gives us the goings on in the north east. Warning: it’s not exactly great news...

It was only on Monday that Roy Hodgson was making the point that Crystal Palace’s squad has been imbalanced all season and, if the situation was not addressed ahead of this evening’s 11pm cut-off, the window could not be deemed a success. All of which means that Palace are back in familiar territory, seeking to conclude a number of deals as the clock ticks down. They brought Mamadou Sakho in on deadline day in August but failed to secure Oumar Niasse; they must be more productive this time round.

The squad is short of a goalkeeper to challenge Wayne Hennessey and Julian Speroni, and Getafe’s Vicente Guaita their favoured candidate either today or in the summer. But, with injuries biting deep, are devoid of game-changing options from the bench: the last time Hodgson make a tactical substitution in a league game was to bring on Bakary Sako after an hour at Southampton on 2 January, and the Mali international succumbed to injury at West Ham last night. A striker is desperately required and, after interest in Jordan Hugill unsettled the 25-year-old and persuaded Preston to leave him out of their side for the win at Nottingham Forest, Palace have actually returned with an improved bid for the Midtjylland striker Alexander Sorloth. The 22-year-old is apparently en route from the Danish club’s winter training camp in Dubai to London to undertake a medical.

There may be attempts to secure another more experienced attacking option as well, while reports in Turkey suggest Fenerbahce’s utility midfielder Ozan Tufan is to join on loan for the remainder of the campaign with a view to a permanent deal in the summer. His arrival may see Palace shelve their interest in Ibrahim Amadou at Lille, who would be a costlier option.

Updated

Thoughts Everton fans? City paid £42m for him but Mangala has not exactly been a roaring success. Is he the man to shore up your defence? Please get in touch.

Everton have joined the pursuit of Eliaquim Mangala and are hopeful of signing the Manchester City defender on loan today. The former Porto centre-half has made only 15 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s team this season and his first team prospects look set to recede following the club record arrival of Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao. Newcastle United and Valencia have also enquired about Mangala this month but it seems Everton’s late move could seal a temporary deal.

Manager Sam Allardyce, while also preparing for tonight’s home game against Leicester City, has been on Talksport this morning to outline his aims for the final day of the window. He said: “We might today have an addition to that (Cenk Tosun and Theo Walcott) but I think it will be a loan player. We might move one more out of the four or five we already have.” One more out could be Davy Klaassen, who has an offer to join Napoli on loan, although Middlesbrough are keen on Mohamed Besic too.

I think Dom’s right - in terms of balancing the books, Chelsea’s business has been excellent but I’m not sure that supporters will be quite so positive given the amounts of cash their rivals have been spending. Get in touch via email or Twitter to let us know what you think...

There is the potential for Chelsea to conclude their business relatively early on deadline day. Olivier Giroud, fresh from his substitute’s appearance in south Wales last night, is due at Cobham to undertake a medical having agreed personal terms in principle ahead of a £17.5m move from Arsenal, a transfer which will be concluded as Michy Batshuayi completes the formalities of his loan move to Borussia Dortmund.

Emerson Palmieri, the £17.2m purchase from AS Roma, will be a spectator at Stamford Bridge this evening as Chelsea take on AFC Bournemouth having joined effectively as back-up to Marcos Alonso. The Brazilian born defender, who is now qualified for Italy, is only 23. Ross Barkley, Chelsea’s other major purchase this window at £15m, is 24. Giroud is tried and tested in the Premier League, a striker eager to make his mark ahead of the World Cup, and effective in his role. Antonio Conte may not be appeased, particularly given the business done by the Manchester clubs, but to spend under £50m on that trio feels like good business if the three are fit and firing.

Preamble

Good morning! Welcome to what is sure to be a bonkers day in the underworld of transfers. There will be movers, shakers, rumours and fluff to keep us busy right up until the deadline, when the window slams shut at 11pm this evening. Let’s cut to the chase, then:

  • Will Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang seal his move to Arsenal?
  • And does that mean Olivier Giroud is heading across town to Chelsea?
  • Is Michy Batshuayi going to be a Borussia Dortmund player by tonight?
  • Will Riyad Mahrez get his own way and end up at Manchester City?
  • Are Southampton about to make Quincy Promes their club-record signing?
  • And much, much more ...

Updated

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