More than £1billion was spent by English clubs in transfers this season, confirmed in a dramatic end to the winter window last night.
There were a lot of changes made as south west London’s teams prepare to take on 2016.
AFC Wimbledon
Manager Neal Ardley will be happy with the business he has done in the January transfer window.
Ardley went out to sign young goalkeeper Kelle Roos from Derby County and said that lessons were learnt after terminating Ben Wilson’s loan deal in December.
The Dons manager said: “After what happened with Ben Wilson, it was important that if we decided to go down this route we did not make the same mistake again.
“We have research a lot for this signing.
“We wanted a goalkeeper with a lot of presence and Kelle will give us that.”
The young Dutchman joins Connor Smith who signed for the club earlier this month, 24 hours after leaving Watford by mutual consent.
Young left-back Ben Harrison has joined Ryman Premier Division side, Tonbridge Angels.
Ins: Kelle Roos (Derby County, loan), Connor Smith (Watford, free)
Outs: Ben Harrison (Tonbridge Angels, loan)
HE’S A KEEPER! Kelle Roos © Derby County FC via YouTube, with thanks
Fulham
Fulham’s biggest achievement in this window was keeping the services of Ross McCormack and Moussa Dembele.
McCormack handed in a transfer request in the hope he would sign for Middlesbrough but they went on to sign Jordan Rhodes from Blackburn Rovers instead.
Meanwhile, Dembele’s transfer to Tottenham Hotspur collapsed after the north London club said they wanted the Frenchman immediately.
The Cottagers, however, said there was an agreement that Dembele would be loaned back immediately until the end of the season and cancelled the transfer on deadline day.
Fulham also had to deal with Spurs’ north London rivals, Arsenal, after the west London club rejected a bid for 16-year-old Ryan Sessegnon, who is considered to be the next Gareth Bale.
Manager Slaviša Jokanović will also see Fernando Amorebieta return after the defender’s season-long loan at Middlesbrough was terminated and welcome midfielder Rohan Ince and forward Zakaria Labyad on loan deals until the end of the season.
Ins: Rohan Ince (Brighton & Hove Albion, loan), Zakaria Labyad (Sporting Lisbon, loan), Michael Madl (Sturm Graz, loan)
Outs: Nikolay Bodurov (FC Midtjylland, loan), Kay Voser (contract cancelled), Adam Taggart (Perth Glory, free), Jack Grimmer (Shrewsbury Town, loan), Sean KAvanagh (Mansfield Town, loan), Cameron Burgess (Cheltenham Town, loan)
STAYING: Ross McCormack © Marathonbet via YouTube, with thanks
Chelsea
John Terry caused the biggest shock last month when it was announced that Chelsea would not be renewing his contract when it expires in the summer.
The captain made his professional debut for the Blues in 1998 and has made more than 700 appearances for the club, winning four Premier League titles in the process.
Apart from this, Guus Hiddink had a quiet transfer window as his Chelsea side try to achieve a respectful finish to the season after a woeful start that led to Jose Mourinho’s dismissal.
Hiddink has boosted his services up front with Alexandre Pato on loan until the end of the season from Sao Paulo while also keeping Loic Remy after he was linked to a loan move to Leicester City.
The Chelsea boss said Pato is not yet fully fit as Corinthians are currently in pre-season and says this transfer is not a risky one.
Hiddink said: “We will test him physically in training and will see when he is available.
“It’s not a gamble. Coming on loan makes it possible to have a good view of him, whether he’s able to adapt to the high demands of the club and the league.
“We’ll give him all the support in this, but it’s up to him.”
Ins: Alexandre Pato (Corinthians, loan), Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls, undisclosed)
Outs: Ramires (JS Suning, £25m), Marco van Ginkel (PSV Eindhoven, loan), Patrick Bamford (Norwich City, loan), Papy Djilbodji (Werder Bremen, loan), Alex Kiwomya (Fleetwood Town, loan), Charly Musonda (Real Betis, loan), Christian Atsu (Malaga, loan), Mitchell Beeney (Newport County, loan)
‘NOT A GAMBLE’: Alexadre Pato © Chelsea FC via YouTube, with thanks
