Quashie deal completes hectic deadline day

West Brom beat the January transfer window deadline with minutes to spare to sign Southampton midfielder Nigel Quashie in a £1.4m (€2m) deal.

Quashie has put pen to paper on a three-and-a-half year contract which will keep him at The Hawthorns until the summer of 2009.

Baggies boss Bryan Robson has been a long-time admirer of the former England Under-21 player.

He said: “I always liked Nigel when he played for QPR, Portsmouth and Southampton. He is an intelligent player, has good stamina and is a very good passer of the ball.

“He has got the experience now of relegation fights and playing in the Premiership. I just feel he will improve our squad.

“I just felt we have been a bit short in midfield. Riccardo Scimeca and Lloyd Dyer had gone during January and it is a matter of balancing the squad all the time and just trying to improve as you keep doing that.”

Tottenham also left it late before signing Danny Murphy from Charlton just before the window closed.

Murphy was left out of the Addicks’ squad for last night’s home clash with West Brom as he discussed moving to White Hart Lane in a deal reported to be worth around £2m (€2.9m).

The 28-year-old spent 18 months at The Valley after joining from Liverpool, where he spent seven years following his move from his first club Crewe Alexandra in 1997.

“Danny is an experienced player who is used to playing at the highest level. He has a fantastic ability to create chances and we are delighted that we have been able to bring him to the club,” said Spurs’ sporting director Damien Comolli.

Murphy added on the club’s website, www.spurs.co.uk: “Spurs has always been a club that has attracted me, but whereas previously things didn’t work out, this time they have and I am absolutely delighted.

“I am looking forward to playing my part in the team Martin Jol is building.”

Norwich manager Nigel Worthington was delighted to sign Rob Earnshaw from West Brom before his side’s 4-0 defeat at Reading.

“I’m glad everything has already been sent to the Football League because he might have changed his mind after watching that,” Worthington said.

“It’s a good price for a good player who is proven at this level.”

The transfer nets West Brom a guaranteed £2.75m (€4m), plus a further £750,000 (€1m) subject to performance-related add-ons.

Albion will also receive 10% of any transfer fee should the Canaries decide to sell the Wales international striker.

Norwich’s package deal matches the total fee the Baggies paid Cardiff for Earnshaw’s services 18 months ago.

Earnshaw could make his debut against Ipswich on Sunday and said: “It’s going to be very exciting for me. This is a new chapter in my life to enjoy.”

Birmingham have swooped to sign Brentford’s FA Cup hero DJ Campbell in a deal which could eventually be worth £1m (€1.5m) to the League One club.

Campbell has been handed a three-year contract after being tracked by Blues boss Steve Bruce for the past six weeks.

The 24-year-old grabbed both goals for Brentford in Saturday’s 2-1 fourth-round triumph over Premiership Sunderland at Griffin Park.

Birmingham will pay an initial £500,000 (€733,000) but the fee could double depending on appearances and his achievements at St Andrews.

Bruce said: “It is a situation we have been watching for a few weeks now. We didn’t want him to do what he did against Sunderland on Saturday, that’s for sure. It reminded everyone that he is a good player!

“He is someone who is quick, direct and young. He is a bit raw but he has a good eye for goal and is an exciting player.”

Portsmouth can lay claim to arguably the day’s most impressive signing after luring Argentina playmaker Andres D’Alessandro to Fratton Park.

The midfielder joined on loan from Wolfsburg for the rest of the season with a view to a permanent switch in the summer, and becomes Harry Redknapp’s ninth signing this month.

The 24-year-old has been capped for Argentina’s senior national side and also won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games.

Redknapp told www.pompeyfc.co.uk: “The boy is a really influential playmaker and you can’t have too many of those. This is a massive signing at the club.”

Wolfsburg paid River Plate a club record £6.15m (€9m) for the 24-year-old in 2003.

One player leaving Fratton Park before the midnight deadline could be Zvonimir Vukic, who claims he has joined Partizan Belgrade on a six-month loan deal.

Arsenal have sold Dutch youngster Quincy Owusu-Abeyie to Spartak Moscow for an undisclosed fee.

The Gunners offloaded the talented 19-year-old forward after recruiting Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo Walcott recently.

Fulham signed midfielder Michael Brown from Tottenham for an undisclosed fee.

The former Sheffield United player agreed a three-and-a-half-year contract after finding first-team opportunities limited at White Hart Lane.

Brown told the club’s website, www.fulhamfc.com: “I’m very excited to be joining Fulham at this point in my career and I’m looking forward to the challenges that this new opportunity brings.

“I enjoyed my time at Spurs and wish the club and its supporters well, as everyone there was really good to me.

“But if I’m honest my prospects there became very limited, so when a club like Fulham, who play attractive passing football, showed an interest in me, there really was only one decision that I could make, and I’m really looking forward to working with Chris Coleman and the rest of the squad.”

Brown’s point was underlined by the news that Tottenham have completed the signing of Egyptian midfielder Hossam Ghaly on a four-and-a-half-year contract.

The 24-year-old, who has 19 international caps, arrives at White Hart Lane from Feyenoord.

West Ham just beat the deadline to sign Lionel Scaloni, who can play in defence or midfield, from Deportivo La Coruna on loan until the end of the season.

AC Milan confirmed they have rebuffed renewed interest from Manchester United in Switzerland midfielder Johann Vogel.

Rossoneri sporting director Ariedo Braida admitted United inquired about the 28-year-old but added: “Johann Vogel will remain at AC Milan 100%.

“It’s true that Manchester United showed an interest. But no offer was made because we said from the beginning that we wanted to keep the player.”

New Manchester City striker Georgios Samaras is looking forward to putting a difficult January behind him and start scoring goals for his new club after signing from Heerenveen for £6m (€8.8m).

“It has been a tough month for me but I was pleased that City were interested in me and now I’m really happy to be here,” said the 20-year-old.

City have also secured the services of Southampton central defender Matthew Mills on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

Rory Delap has also left Southampton, signing for Sunderland on a two-and-a-half-year deal. The 29-year-old midfielder joins on a free transfer.

Fulham have allowed defender Zesh Rehman to join Norwich on loan for the rest of the season. The Pakistan international has been joined at Carrow Road by Charlton forward Jonatan Johansson from Charlton.

Wigan’s Australia international midfielder Josip Skoko has rejected a loan move to Stoke, despite a lack of first-team opportunities at the JJB Stadium.