6:45 p.m.: A few more deadline-day deals could be announced in the coming hours, but we’ll close our live coverage here.
We’ll add any major moves to this space when we return Sunday. In the meantime, let’s discuss the January 2014 transfer window on Twitter @NESNsoccer and Facebook. Be sure to keep an eye out for some news, fan reactions, analysis and opinion that is on the way on NESN Soccer.
That’s all for now and thanks for joining us.
6:30 p.m.: Crystal Palace landed one of English soccer’s top prospect minutes before the window closed.
Tom Ince will head to Selhurst Park from Blackpool on loan.
Ince has been linked with a number of top-flight clubs for over a year. The 22-year-old winger scored seven goals and set up six more in 23 games this season, but his exit became a forgone conclusion earlier this month when Blackpool fired his father, Paul Ince, as manager.
The younger Ince is Crystal Palace’s fifth signing of the January transfer window and third of transfer deadline day.
[tweet https://twitter.com/Mark__Bright/statuses/429396625921171457 align=’center’]
6:15 p.m.: Arsenal famously lacks strikers, but the Gunners allowed one of their fringe players to leave for the next few months, anyway.
Park Chu-Young will join Watford on loan until the end of the season. The Korean forward will drop down into the Championship (English second division) in search of regular games. He hopes to rediscover his scoring touch before this summer’s World Cup.
6 p.m.: The transfer window has closed.
A number of teams are finalizing details of last-minute loans or transfers.
We’ll have the big ones for you right here once they are announced.
5:30 p.m.: West Brom has signed Thievy Bifouma on loan from Spanish club Espanyol until the end of the season.
Bifoua, a 21-year-old French striker, was used sparingly by Espanyol. He scored three goals in 11 La Liga games this season.
We don’t know much about Bifoue, but here’s what Spanish soccer expert Sid Lowe has to say.
[tweet https://twitter.com/sidlowe/statuses/429381476103491584 align=’center’]
5:30 p.m.: Fulham has signed Heitinga on a free transfer.
Heitinga, 30, has played just one league game for Everton this season. The Dutch center back hopes that he will play regular games at Fulham and boost his chances of making the Netherlands’ World Cup squad.
[tweet https://twitter.com/FulhamFC/statuses/429381705518964736 align=’center’]
[tweet https://twitter.com/Johnheitinga/statuses/429383484025876480 align=’center’]
5:15 p.m.: Fulham continues to wheel and deal on deadline day.
The Cottagers have sold defender Philippe Senderos to Valencia for an undisclosed fee.
Senderos joined Fulham from Arsenal in 2010 and played 67 games for the Premier League club.
Senderos’ departure could mean that Fulham is close signing John Heitinga from Everton, as has been rumored in recent days.
Barring a last-minute change of circumstances, here’s what we’re thinking about this month’s transfer scene.
[tweet https://twitter.com/NESNSoccer/status/429376304329146368 align=’center’]
5:05 p.m.: It looks like Hernanes, whose tears made it dusty in our rooms (see way below), got his wish.
Lazio midfielder Hernanes signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Inter Milan after the two Italian clubs agreed to an undisclosed transfer fee, according to Football Italia.
Hernanes left Sao Paulo in his native Brazil for Lazio in 2010. He scored 40 goals in 158 games for Lazio and helped the Roman club win the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) last season.
Inter is delighted to have secured the 28-year-old’s services.
“F.C. Internazionale wishes Hernanes a very warm welcome to the club,” a club statement said. “The Brazilian midfielder’s transfer from S.S. Lazio has now been completed and all the paperwork filed with the Lega Serie A.
“Born in Recife on 29 May 1985, Anderson Hernanes De Carvalho Viana Lima has 23 caps and two goals to his name with the Seleção [Brazil’s national team]. He also won the 2013 Confederations Cup with Brazil.
“Among his honours at club level, he boasts two Brazilian championship titles with São Paulo (2007, 2008) and a Coppa Italia with Lazio (2013).
“Hernanes has put pen to paper on a four and a half year deal that runs to 30 June 2018.”
[tweet https://twitter.com/inter/statuses/429370609944903680 align=’center’]
5 p.m.: The January transfer window closes in hour.
News of last-minute deals should start rolling in soon. That is all.
4:45 p.m.: Chelsea reserve winger Gael Kakuta has joined Lazio on loan for the rest of the season.
Kakuta has spent most of the last two seasons on loan at Dutch club Vitesse. The 22-year-old ended that loan spell in order to test himself at a higher level with Serie A club Lazio.
4:30 p.m.: Two potential moves we discussed earlier have now become official transfers.
Berbatov will play for Monacao Monaco after Fulham agreed to loan him to French club until the end of the season.
Mega-rich Monaco is aiming to win the Ligue 1 (French first division) title as well as the hearts and minds of fans around the world. Berbatov will likely be key to its attack in the absence of injured striker Radamel Falcao.
Berbatov appears below in his new colors.
[tweet https://twitter.com/ASMFC_MONACO/statuses/429365694266765312 align=’center’]
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace has completed the signing of former Blackburn captain Dann.
[tweet https://twitter.com/Official_CPFC/statuses/429359346347016193 align=’center’]
3 p.m.: Kallstrom’s loan move to Arsenal is a done deal.
“Kim Kallstrom is a hugely-experienced player,” Wenger said, according to FIFA.com. “He is a midfielder with proven quality at both club and international level. We welcome Kim to Arsenal.”
[tweet https://twitter.com/Arsenal/statuses/429337269783121920 align=’center’]
However, the Gunners failed in a late bid to land (former Chelsea) forward Salomon Kalou.
French club Lille rejected Arsenal’s advances because it’s too late in the day to sign a replacement, according to Sky Sports.
The transfer window closes in three hours.
2:30 p.m.: A couple of moves in Spain warrant mentioning.
First, Sergio Canales has joined Real Sociedad from Valencia in a permanent transfer worth a reported €4.5 million (£3.7 million/$6.1 million).
Canales, 22, was once thought of as Spanish soccer’s next superstar, but his progress stalled after he left Racing Santander for Real Madrid in 2010, and his fortunes didn’t improve after he moved to Valencia a year later.
Canales now joins sixth-place Real Sociedad looking to get his career on track at both club and international levels.
Meanwhile, Mexican winger Andres Guardado has left Valencia for German club Bayer Leverkusen, where he will spend the remainder of the season on loan, according to Sky Sports.
“The offer from Leverkusen was a great chance for me to start something new,” Guardado said. “The Bundesliga has a fantastic reputation in Spain.
“It’s something special for me to be able to get to know this big European league.
“Bayer have been a top side in German football for many years and they have also been heavily involved in the Champions League.
“I’m therefore pleased that the transfer has worked out.”
Guardado joins Pavel Pardo in the ranks of prominent Mexican players who test themselves in the German top flight. Pardo played for VfB Stuttgart from 2006-2009. The now-retired midfielder helped Stuttgart win the Bundesliga title in 2006-07.
Guardado will help second-place Leverkusen, as it (fruitlessly) chases Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga crown. The 27-year-old will likely be part of Mexico’s World Cup team — maybe as a starter.
In other news involving Mexican internationals, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez will not leave Manchester United for Tottenham, Arsenal or anywhere else before the window shuts. Hernandez’s agent told ESPN Deportes that while many teams are chasing his client, the 25-year-old will stay and fight for playing time at Manchester United for the time being, according to Sky Sports.
“I had meetings with a few clubs, I won’t name them nor their offers, they are very interested in him,” Eduardo Hernandez said. “One of the top ten teams in the world are among those teams that were very interested in signing Javier.
“There was a club from Germany, one from France, and two from Spain and Italy each that want to have him. However, he is under contract with Man Utd and he somehow has to respect it in case there is an agreement between the parties.
“I couldn’t say that for sure [if Hernandez will leave in the summer}. Football is dynamic and his current situation could change tomorrow, so there are clubs that are interested, that like him a lot and trust him to succeed.
“He has achieved a high value in Europe’s market and I can’t say that there won’t be anything concrete after the next six months. However, we do hope he gets minutes.”
2:30 p.m.: It’s been quiet for the last hour or so.
The Mail reports that Cattermole’s move from Stoke to Sunderland won’t happen, as Sunderland manager Gus Poyet has gone home for the day.
1:30 p.m.: Dani Osvaldo’s time at Southampton has come to an end — at least for now.
Osvaldo completed a loan move to Juventus on Friday — just six months after he became Southampton’s record signing.
Osvaldo, 28, only scored three Premier-League goals in that short time span. Most fans of the English game will remember Osvaldo for the practice-field fight, during which he headbutted teammate Jose Fontes, leaving the defender’s face bloodied. Southampton suspended Osvaldo for two weeks and loaned him to Juventus before he returned.
[tweet https://twitter.com/juventusfc/statuses/429317594907025408 align=’center’]
Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente are the regular starting forwards at Juventus. Fabio Quagliarella and Mirko Vucinic deputize, but one or both could be loaned out now that Osvaldo has arrived in Turin.
1 p.m.: Stoke City and Sunderland are trying to work out a deal which take Lee Cattermole to Stoke.
Cattermole, 25, has been a regular starter for Sunderland this season.
The two clubs have agreed on a transfer fee — belived to be around £3 million-£4 million ($4.9 million- 6.6 million) — and Cattermole is on his way to Stoke City for a physical exam, according to the Guardian.
The transfer window closes in five hours.
12:40 p.m.: There was another interesting move in the Russian transfer market on Friday.
Zenit St. Petersburg signed Venezuelan forward Jose Salomon Rondon from Rubin Kazan.
[tweet https://twitter.com/fczenit_en/statuses/429289725795385345 align=’center’]
Rondon, 24, has scored 12 goals in 19 games this season. Rondon joins Hulk, Alexander Kerzhakov and the incomparable Andrey Arshavin in Zenit’s impressive attacking corps.
Rondon, who is black, joins a club whose warned them not to sign any black, Latin American or gay players back in December 2012.
12:25 p.m.: Earlier today, some news out of Russia caught piqued the interest of Arsenal fans.
The Gunners are reportedly trying to sign Kim Kallstrom on loan until the end of the season from Russian club Spartak Moscow. Kallstrom is in North London finalizing the deal, according to the Guardian.
Kallstrom, 31, is a midfielder who has previously played for Djurgardens in his native Sweden and French clubs Rennes and Lyon. He also played 98 times for Sweden’s national team.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger talked about his team’s injury crisis earlier Friday. Budding star Aaron Ramsey suffered a setback in his recovery from a thigh injury. The Welshman might not return before mid-March.
“We still try to bring at least one body in because we are a bit hit now by the red card of [Mathieu] Flamini, the setback of Ramsey and the fact that [Jack] Wilshere is not available, which I hope will be short term,” Wenger said.
“We are in an area where we had plenty of players … suddenly we are a bit short.
“Ramsey will be between four to six weeks and I count six so I have no bad surprise. Of course, it’s a blow for us because we recently lost [Theo] Walcott for a long period and now Ramsey is out for a long period. It’s a big setback.”
Kallstrom’s arrival almost certainly means Arsenal will not sign Draxler before the transfer window closes.
Wenger said there was little truth in the Draxler rumor to begin with, according to the BBC.
“The Draxler situation has been created by the newspapers, not by me. He will stay at Schalke,” he said.
12:15 p.m.: This tweet from League-Two (English fourth division) club AFC Wimbledon reminds us that not every team is in a position to splash the cash on transfer deadline day.
[tweet https://twitter.com/AFCWimbledon/statuses/429257232635949056 align=’center’]
12 p.m.: A year ago, Wilfried Zaha was one of the hottest properties on the transfer market.
Manchester United signed Zaha for £15 million ($24.7 million) and loaned him back to Crystal Palace for the rest of the 2012-13 season.
Zaha has failed to break into David Moyes’ Manchester United squad in 2013-14, so he heads to Cardiff City on loan for the rest of the season.
“I said right at the start of the season that if I could get Wilf the games, I’d keep him, but if I couldn’t then I’d get him some games on loan,” Moyes said on United’s website.
“There were a few clubs who wanted him on loan but in the end we felt Cardiff was the right choice for him. Hopefully he will go and get those games, show what he can do in the Premier League and be ready to come back to us at the end of the season.
“He has real potential. He did terrifically well at Crystal Palace and that’s why the club purchased him.”
Zaha, 21, will find former United teammate Fabio at Cardiff City. Fabio joined the red-clad Bluebirds on a permanent deal earlier Friday.
[tweet https://twitter.com/CardiffCityFC/statuses/429242726694260736 align=’center’%5D
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has signed six new players since his hiring as Cardiff City manager on Jan. 2. Solkskjaer says he is finished with his shopping, according to the BBC.
“Probably we are done with signings, but there may be players going out on loan and some transfers as well,” Solskjaer said.
11:50 a.m.: Crystal Palace is busy on deadline day.
Palace manager Tony Pulis has secured the permanent signing of Jason Puncheon — the taker of that yet-to-land penalty kick — from Cardiff City.
[tweet https://twitter.com/SouthamptonFC/statuses/429252744893837312 align=’center’]
Palace has also signed goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey from Wolves for a reported £3 million ($4.9 million). Hennessey will likely usurp Julian Speroni as Palace’s starting goalkeeper.
Blackburn defender Scott Dann is also on his way to Selhurst Park, and Celtic FC midfielder could also be headed that way before the end of the day (that rhyme was intentional).
11:45 a.m.: What do you think of Fulham’s business on Transfer Deadline Day? Let us know.
[tweet https://twitter.com/NESNSoccer/status/429290263379337217 align=’center’]
11:40 a.m.: Manchester City was reportedly in talks with FC Porto over defender Eliaquim Mangala and midfielder Fernando Reges (a.k.a. “The Octopus“), but the Premier League leaders balked at the Portuguese club’s £40 million ($66 million) asking price.
[tweet https://twitter.com/DTguardian/statuses/429319767837519874 align=’center’]
The BBC reports that Manchester City will attempt to sign the highly rated duo in the summer.
The Guardian adds that Manchester City will not make any signings on deadline day and pursue the quadruple and other records with the (impressive) squad it currently has at its disposal.
11:30 a.m.: West Ham moved to shore up its creaky defense by landing Pablo Armero on loan from Napoli.
[tweet https://twitter.com/davidgold/statuses/429310794388742144 align=’center’]
The 27-year-old Colombian left back played regularly under Rafa Benitez this season, but Napoli’s singings of Faouzi Ghoulam and Anthony Reveillere made him expendable.
[tweet https://twitter.com/sscnapoliES/statuses/429281024309460992 align=’center’%5D
Armero will look to cement his place in Colombia’s starting lineup for the World Cup by flourishing in a West Ham jersey.
11 a.m.: Fulham has taken another deadline-day trip to the market.
The Cottagers beat West Ham to the signature of Konstantinos Mitroglou, who moves to West London from Greek power Olympiakos. Newcastle was also thought to be interested in signing Mitroglou earlier this season.
Mitroglou has been prolific for club and country this season, scoring 22 goals in 22 games (in all competitions). Mitroglou reportedly cost £12.4 million ($20.4 million).
[tweet https://twitter.com/FulhamFC/statuses/429274481614262272 align=’center’]
[tweet https://twitter.com/FulhamFC/statuses/429303211707858944 align=’center’]
Greece is hoping the 25-year-old can maintain his form and confidence, as the World Cup approaches. Scoring freely for a domestic giant is one thing. Bagging goals by the bunches in the world’s most watched league is a harder task.
Mitroglou would have faced Manchester United in the Champions League next month had he stayed at Olympiakos. He swaps European nights for a relegation battle by making the move, but Rio Ferdinand could care less about his motivation for doing so. The United defender is glad he won’t be chasing after the prolific Greek striker.
[tweet https://twitter.com/rioferdy5/statuses/429276606772031488 align=’center’]
Fulham has also signed Manchester United pair Larnell Cole and Ryan Tunnicliffe for undisclosed fees. They were barely on the fringes of United’s squad, but Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen worked with Cole and Tunnicliffe when he was a coach at Manchester United.
The transfer window closes in seven hours.
10:40 a.m.: For West Ham, avoiding relegation could be an Italian job.
Italian internationals Marco Borriello and Antonio Nocerino joined the Hammers (from AS Roma and AC Milan respectively) on loan earlier this week.
They met West Ham co-owner David Gold at Upton Park earlier today.
[tweet https://twitter.com/whufc_official/statuses/429252007480664065 align=’center’]
Boriello, 31, scored just one goal in 11 games for Roma this season. West Ham hopes he can recapture the form, which helped him play seven games for his country.
Nocerina, 28, played 13 games for AC Milan this season. He too has World Cup ambitions, but he would likely have to set the Premier League alight in order to earn a spot on Italy’s World Cup squad and add to the 15 games he has played for Italy.
Borriello and Nocerino could make their Premier League debuts Saturday, as West Hame hosts Swansea City.
10:30 a.m.:There’s some news involving U.S. international Jermaine Jones.
Jones, 32, will take his talents to Turkey after signing with Besiktas. Sports Illustrated reports the midfield destroyer joins the Turkish giants on loan from Germany’s Schalke 04, where he spent the better part of the last six seasons.
[tweet https://twitter.com/Jermainejunior/statuses/428892272835698688 align=’center’]
Jones is likely to be a starter for the U.S.A. at the World Cup. It’s also believed that he wants to move to Major League Soccer after this summer’s tournament.
10 a.m.: The transfer window closes in eight hours.
We have a number of deals to report. Some are already completed, while others remain in the works.
Berbatov is thought to be on his way to Monaco after Fulham gave him permission to talk to the French club. Berbatov is likely to have a physical exam at Monaco later today, which all but ends Tottenham’s and Arsenal’s hopes of signing him, according to the Guardian.
However, Fulham isn’t standing around doing nothing while Berbatov walks away. The Cottagers signed Lewis Holtby on loan from Tottenham.
Holtby, 23, has struggled to get on the field since Tim Sherwood became Tottenham manager. Holtby will spend the rest of the season trying to play regular games and help Fulham escape relegation.
[tweet https://twitter.com/FulhamFC/statuses/429226668238962688 align=’center’]
While Tottenham might let another player or two leave on deadline day, don’t expect Spurs to make any signings.
[tweet https://twitter.com/Paul_Doyle/status/429243693816492032 align=’center’]
7:30 p.m. ET: The day when we discover the difference between truth and rumor has finally arrived.
European soccer’s January transfer window closes on Friday at midnight. Fans and pundits alike expect a flurry of deadline-day deals to happen, as players and teams look to improve their current situations with shrewd moves in the transfer market.
Aside from Juan Mata’s move from Chelsea to Manchester United and Yohann Cabaye’s switch from Newcastle to PSG and Nemanja Matic’s £21 million ($34.6 million) return to Chelsea, the winter window hasn’t seen many big names change teams for big fees up until now. That could all change on Friday.
With the 2014 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, players will have their national-team prospects in mind as they elect or decline to change teams in mid-season. Some will skip happily to their next adventure, while others shed tears when they don’t get their way, as Brazilian midfielder Hernanes did when his proposed move from Lazio to Inter Milan broke down on Thursday.
“I would like to explain my tears because I’ve seen they have been misunderstood, I cried not because the club president was stopping me leaving,” Hernanes said, according to Sky Sports.
“I cried because the negotiation between the two clubs is happening.
“I had the possibility to leave Rome, the place I love, the supporters I love. But it has to be me who told the president I would like to leave because I think it’s best for me on a professional level.
The highly rated young French defender Kurt Zouma sealed a £12.5 million ($20.6 million) transfer from St. Etienne to Chelsea late Thursday. The 19-year-old will spend the rest of the season on loan at his old club before making a permanent move to Stamford Bridge this summer. “What does that mean for John Terry?” the Guardian asks. Good question. Only time will tell.
In other news, QPR schemer Adel Taarabt will join Michael Essien at AC Milan after ending his loan stay at Fulham in favor of a similar arrangement with the Italian giants.
Dani Osvaldo will likely end an ill-fated spell in the Premier League by the end of Friday. Southampton and Juventus are working out a deal, which will send the misbehaving striker back to Italy’s Serie A.
Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov could also leave Craven Cottage, as Fulham closes in on Greek hitman Kostas Mitroglou. Arsenal and Tottenham could make a late charge for Berbatov.
Inter Milan, Juventus and Tottenham are reportedly chasing Manchester United’s out-of-favor winger
Other names in the rumor mill include Bayern Munich’s Toni Kroos (who has been linked with Manchester United), Schalke playmaker Julian Draxler (Arsenal) and the German-born U.S. international Fabian Johnson.
[tweet https://twitter.com/John__Percy/status/428876829982609408 align=’center’]
The eyes of the world will be fixed on the major soccer leagues of Western Europe, as clubs in that region can and will spend the most money on new talent.
Join us right here on Friday from 10 a.m. ET. We’ll round-up all the major rumors and moves — as they happen. It could be chaos. It might be madness. But we’ll pretend like it’s not.
As always, share your thoughts and give us your feedback on NESN Soccer’s Facebook Timeline and Twitter account. We’ll do the asking and the answering of some transfer deadline day questions. Like so:
[tweet https://twitter.com/NESNSoccer/status/429051756379525120 align=’center’]
[tweet https://twitter.com/NESNSoccer/status/429051941096652800 align=’center’]
Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer or @mkomard, his Facebook page or NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here.
Photo via Twitter/@FrenchFtWeekly
