Spurs splash stg£7m for Defoe on deadline day
The five-year deal which takes West Ham’s prized asset to White Hart Lane, and also sees Bobby Zamora move in the opposite direction, dominated a day in which Leeds and Portsmouth were also active.
England Under-21 international Defoe had attracted interest from Barclaycard Premiership clubs since handing in a transfer request the day after the Hammers were relegated last season.
He has endured a turbulent campaign this term, scoring 15 goals but being sent off three times.
His place in the Hammers side will go to Zamora, who had failed to make an impact since joining Spurs from Brighton in the summer.
West Ham also brought in 21-year-old midfielder Sebastien Carole on loan from Monaco.
Debt-ridden Leeds were involved in activity throughout the day but their biggest deal, the proposed stg£2million sale of goalkeeper Paul Robinson to Spurs, broke down.
The two clubs agreed a deal for the 24-year-old to move to London but plans to allow the player to remain at Elland Road until the end of the season contravened Premier League rules.
One player to leave the Premiership’s bottom club was striker Michael Bridges, who agreed to join Newcastle on loan until the end of the season with defender Steve Caldwell moving to Leeds on loan until the end of the season.
Leeds had also hoped to sign Lomana LuaLua from the Magpies but he opted to join Portsmouth, who also brought in John Curtis from Leicester.
Democratic Republic of Congo international LuaLua agreed terms to join Pompey on loan until the end of the season with Curtis signing on a free transfer.
Leicester also brought in a player, their third since the transfer window opened, as Lee Morris arrived from Derby for stg£120,000.
The striker, who once cost stg£3million when he moved to Derby from Sheffield United and could have rejoined the Blades, agreed a two-and-a-half-year deal.
Middlesbrough signed yet another Brazilian as they landed World Cup-winning midfielder Ricardinho on loan for the rest of the season. The 27-year-old moves from hometown club Sao Paulo and was highly recommended by compatriots Juninho and Doriva. The deal was completed just one hour before the 5pm deadline.
Middlesbrough had also hoped to complete a permanent deal for on-loan defender Danny Mills and sign Mark Viduka, but discussions with Leeds over both did not bear fruit.
Birmingham completed the signing of versatile Blackburn defender Martin Taylor for stg£1.25million.
The 24-year-old, who has signed a three-and- a-half-year deal at St Andrews, hailed manager Steve Bruce as the chief factor in his decision to move.
Taylor said: “The manager here was a major influence on my decision. Steve Bruce was one of the top centre-halves in the country, I have heard that he is a top coach and I’ll have a lot to learn from him. I hope that he will be able to help me progress as a player.”
Blackburn’s pursuit of Huddersfield’s Jonathan Stead finally paid off as the Third Division club accepted an offer of “more than stg£1million.”Huddersfield had previously rejected three offers for the 20-year-old striker, who has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract.
Elsewhere, Charlton confirmed their stg£100,000 signing of Arsenal youngster Jerome Thomas.
A promising midfielder, he has decided his future lies away from Highbury following the signing of Jose Reyes.
Liverpool right-back Jon Ostemobor agreed to join Premiership rivals Bolton on loan until the end of the season.
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