Transfer Deadline Day: Ighalo, Sakho and the major moves as window shuts
The January transfer window closed in England Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET (and elsewhere before) meaning the time for clubs fighting relegation or looking for the missing pieces for a title run to make their final moves has come and gone.
While the winter typically does not present the same level of audacious spending as the summer, some big names have their place in the shop window. One of the biggest ones was Dimitri Payet who returned to Marseille after a prolonged saga with West Ham.
Here are the major dealings to close the latest edition of transfer season:
• Crystal Palace has had an eye on Liverpool's out-of-favor Mamadou Sakho, and unable to buy him for not meeting Liverpool's asking price of £20 million, it appears Palace has the next best thing: a loan for the remainder of the season.
• Chelsea is reportedly mulling over a potential £30 million bid for Celtic's rising star Moussa Dembele, though it could elect to hold off until the summer to make its move. Dembele, 20, has 20 goals in 38 appearances with Celtic, including a brace against Manchester City in the Champions League, and has become a sought-after target in the transfer market. Dembele is reportedly in London, but Celtic assures it's solely for a scan on his knee and not to sign with Chelsea. Dembele himself appears to have had the final word.
• Chelsea has sold Branislav Ivanovic to Zenit St. Petersburg and eyes Schalke left backSead Kolasinac as a replacement in Antonio Conte's defense. Chelsea, meanwhile, has had a loan offer for Inter Milan winger Jonathan Biabianyturned down by the player.
• Swansea City has signed Jordan Ayew, reportedly acquiring the Ghanaian from Aston Villa for Neil Taylor and £6 million.
• Hull is closing in on the signing of Polish winger Kamil Grosicki from Rennes.
• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has reportedly told a radio station that he wants to leave Borussia Dortmund in the summer. He's long been pegged for a move to Real Madrid.
• Southampton has rejected bids from West Brom and Sunderland for forward Jay Rodriguez. The Baggies and Black Cats are circling afterSouthampton reportedly signed striker Manolo Gabbiadini from Napoli in a deal that initially costs £14.6 million and could rise to £17.2 million with add-ons.
• St. Pauli confirms that U.S. forward Fafa Picault will be leaving the last-place 2. Bundesliga side for MLS and the Philadelphia Union. Picault was called into the U.S. senior team by Jurgen Klinsmann for last May's friendly against Puerto Rico after a four-goal campaign with St. Paul in 2015-16. He was a former standout in NASL with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.
• Bayer Leverkusen has signed 19-year-old Jamaican winger Leon Bailey from Genk to a deal through 2022.
• Arsenal has loaned U.S. prospect Gedion Zelalemto Dutch club VVV Venlo for the rest of the season. Chuba Akpom is also heading out on loan, staying in the U.K. to play for Brighton until the summer.
• Brazilian forward Alexandre Pato will join a number of his countrymen in China, signing with Tianjin Quanjian from Villarreal for a fee of £18 million.
• Jose Mourinho assures all that Wayne Rooney and Ashley Youngwill be staying put, despite speculation and reports stating the contrary.
• Burnley has signed Ireland forward Robbie Brady from Norwich City, doing so in a club-record deal of £13 million.
• West Ham has finally relented, selling wantaway midfielder Dimitri Payet to Marseille for £25 million. After three bids had been denied, Payet gets his way, returning to his native France and leaving the Hammers, where he rose to prominence last season. He had submitted a transfer request earlier in the winter, and manager Slaven Bilic had banished him from the first team until he changed his tune, maintaining that the club wouldn't sell. That breaking point has come, though, and Payet is on his way back to France.
• Jese Rodriguez has reportedly taken a pay cut to choose Las Palmas over Middlesbrough as his loan destination from Paris Saint-Germain. The former Real Madrid midfielder signed with PSG for £21 million over the summer but hasn't lived up to the hype under manager Unai Emery.
• Andrea Ranocchia is on his way from Inter Milan on loan to relegation-threatened Hull City for the remainder of the season.
• Emmanuel Adebayor has signed with Turkish Super Lig contender Istanbul Basaksehir for the next 18 months.
• Leicester forward Leonardo Ulloa wants out of the club and has gone has far as to say he's been betrayed by manager Claudio Ranieri for not selling him to fellow relegation-threatened side Sunderland despite the Black Cats meeting Leicester's asking price. Leicester has stood pat, and Sunderland is reportedly withdrawing its interest after having a third bid rejected.
• Watford is the latest to cash in on offers from China, agreeing to sell Odion Ighaloto Chinese club Changchun Yatai for £20 million.
• The LA Galaxy have signed 27-year-old French midfielder Romain Alessandrini from Marseille to a Designated Player deal.
• Sunderland has landed Bryan Oviedo and Darron Gibsonfrom Everton on permanent deals, with Oviedo signed through 2020 and Gibson signing through the end of next season.
• Chile forward Eduardo Vargas has left the Bundesliga's Hoffenheim for Liga MX side Tigres UANL.
• After receiving bids from both West Ham and Burnley for Robert Snodgrass, Hull City parted ways with its midfielder for the former, sending him to the Hammers for a £10.2 million fee.
• Middlesbrough will part ways with U.S. goalkeeper Brad Guzan this summer, with the American heading to MLS expansion side Atlanta United after the Premier League season ends.
• Uruguayan attacking midfielder Gaston Ramirez wants out of Middlesbrough after submitting a transfer request, and Leicester City appears to be his desired destination.
• Chelsea and PSG may be out of luck in their quest to sign 20-year-old rising star midfielder Franck Kessie from Atalanta, with the club reportedly saying he's not for sale. Both clubs are said to have submitted £21 million offers.
• Alvaro Morata is reportedly unhappy at Real Madrid, and despite signing a new contract with the club in the summer could be offloaded.
• Goncalo Guedes, who is touted by some as the "next Cristiano Ronaldo" is headed to PSG. The reported Manchester United target and 20-year-old winger was previously at Benfica.
• With Asmir Begovic mulling a departure from Chelsea, the Blues are lining up potential replacements as a backup to Thibaut Courtois. Celtic's Craig Gordon, AC Milan's Diego Lopez and Galatasaray's Fernando Muslera are said to be on the wish list. Chelsea submitted a bid for Gordon, but it has reportedly been rejected.
• Watford has signed forward M'Baye Niang from AC Milan on loan with an option to buy for £13.5 million at the end of the season.
• One of Iceland's Euro 2016 heroes is headed to Aston Villa, with Birkir Bjarnason leaving FC Basel for the second-tier English club and signing a deal through 2020.
• After Abdul Rahman Baba was injured at the Africa Cup of Nations, Schalke has signed midfielder Daniel Caligiuri from Bundesliga foe Wolfsburg as cover and signed him through June 2020.
