Blues get busy as window slams shut

Chelsea made the only big-money signing of a surprisingly low-key transfer deadline day as they brought in Fiorentina winger Juan Cuadrado for €30m; but in a sign that perhaps Financial Fair Play is beginning to bite, even they had to sell Andre Schurrle before signing the cheque.

On a day which has traditionally seen huge amounts of money spent by Premier League clubs, Chelsea’s deal for Cuadrado — along with the €28m sale of Schurrle to German side Wolfsburg — were comfortably the biggest deals on show as Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool all opted not to join the spending spree.

City, already being punished for breaking FFP rules last season, had of course spent their money earlier in the window — €37m of it — by bringing in Wilfried Bony from Swansea; and Ireland legend Niall Quinn, who played more than 200 games for City, was not only unruffled by his former club’s lack of deadline day action but suggests the arrival of Bony was the single most important deal of the window.