Malaga’s Spain defender Nacho Monreal quit La Liga for Premier League Arsenal, who were desperate for cover at left back with Kieran Gibbs out through injury and Andre Santos the butt of many fan jokes after failing to impress.Įlsewhere in England, fellow strugglers Aston Villa took a vastly different path to big spending QPR as they pressed ahead with their reliance on youth despite lying second from bottom. Spain, with many lower profile clubs facing financial pressures in the debt-ridden country, was quiet but Malaga did sign Chile midfielder Pedro Morales until the end of the season after letting Argentine Diego Buonanotte join La Liga rivals Granada.įormer Real Madrid flop Fernando Gago left Valencia for a loan spell back home at Argentina’s Velez Sarsfield and Barcelona’s Isaac Cuenca went on loan to Ajax Amsterdam. Germany was quiet on deadline day with Stuttgart signing Romanian midfielder Alexandru Maxim until 2017 and strugglers Hoffenheim taking error-prone Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes on loan from Tottenham for the rest of the season. The Nerazzurri have plugged a hole in midfield after cutbacks led to them selling Brazilian Coutinho to Liverpool on Wednesday and Netherlands playmaker Wesley Sneijder to Turkish champions Galatasaray, who also now boast Didier Drogba. Italy’s Serie A, which welcomed back Mario Balotelli on Tuesday with his transfer from Manchester City to AC Milan finally confirmed on Thursday, will also now be graced by Fiorentina’s Momo Sissoko and Napoli’s Rolando.ĭinamo Zagreb teenager Mateo Kovacic also joined Atalanta winger Ezequiel Schelotto and VfB Stuttgart’s Swiss-born Serbia midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic at previously frugal Inter Milan, along with Lazio goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo. QPR, four points adrift at the bottom with 14 matches left, signed Congo’s former Blackburn Rovers defender Samba from Anzhi Makhachkala for what media reports said was a club record fee of 12.5 million pounds ($19.82 million). Spending was still brisk in the Premier League, the world’s richest football competition, thanks to those desperate to avoid the huge financial hit of relegation and others keen to try to sample the benefits of European competition. The annual dash for transfers at the end of the January window was less busy than in some previous years with many top clubs sitting tight with the onset of UEFA’s financial fairplay scheme meaning they have to break even or risk sanctions.

Samba was almost joined at QPR by Peter Odemwingie but the Nigerian striker turned up at the London club’s ground without his side West Bromwich Albion’s consent and a deal fell through. LONDON (Reuters) - Paris St Germain signed a cut-price David Beckham on Thursday while English Premier League strugglers Queens Park Rangers took a big gamble on the costly Christopher Samba during transfer deadline day.įormer England captain Beckham, 37, who signed a five-month contract with the French club, said his salary would be donated to a children’s charity in Paris.

Harry samba french model