Robinho deal steals the limelight

Dimitar Berbatov’s drawn-out transfer to Old Trafford appeared to be reaching its conclusion last night but it was Manchester United’s city rivals who stole the show on transfer deadline day.

In a remarkable twist to a dramatic evening, Manchester City captured Robinho from Real Madrid to dramatically end Chelsea’s pursuit of the Brazilian striker.

Mark Hughes’ side, bankrolled by Abu Dhabi United Group’s prospective takeover, had staged an audacious attempt to hijack Berbatov’s move to United.

Tabling a British record fee of over £30m for Berbatov, they switched targets once it became clear the Bulgarian had his heart set on Old Trafford.

Robinho had looked destined for Stamford Bridge but Real Madrid’s reluctance to sell to Chelsea and the reported £32m transfer fee offered by City shifted the balance in their favour.

The excitement at Eastlands – where bids were also made for Valencia striker David Villa and Stuttgart forward Mario Gomez – overshadowed events on the red half of Manchester.

Berbatov looked to have brought a welcome conclusion to his summer-long transfer to United when he arrived at Old Trafford tonight to agree personal terms.

No official confirmation of the deal had arrived as the transfer window closed and it is unknown what fee Spurs received.

Spurs had been the busiest Premier League club earlier in the day after signing £14m Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and Croatia right-back Vedran Corluka.

Defender Corluka, 22, joined Croatia team-mate Luka Modric at Spurs after putting pen to paper on a deal thought to be worth £8.5m.

Liverpool captured Spain winger Albert Riera from La Liga side Espanyol for an undisclosed fee.

The 26-year-old signed a four-year contract after choosing Rafael Benitez’s side over several other clubs, including neighbours Everton.

He joined Vitor Flora at Anfield after the 18-year-old Brazilian, who holds an Italian passport, agreed a free transfer.

But striker Andriy Voronin and full-back Steve Finnan departed Liverpool for Hertha Berlin and Espanyol respectively.

Not to be outdone by their Merseyside rivals, Everton confirmed the signing of French striker Louis Saha from Manchester United for an undisclosed fee.

Saha signed a two-year deal with an option for a third year and was joined at Goodison by Wigan keeper Carlo Nash.

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp made his only deadline-day signing by taking Algeria left-back Nadir Belhadj on loan from French club Lens.

Defender George McCartney rejoined Sunderland on a five-year contract from West Ham for an undisclosed fee, becoming Roy Keane’s 10th signing of the summer.

Newcastle lured Valencia’s Uruguayan midfielder Ignacio Gonzalez to St James’ Park on a one-year loan deal.

Blackburn strengthened their squad with the acquisition of goalkeeper Mark Bunn, 23, from Northampton on a four-year contract.

Defender Danny Higginbotham, 29, rejoined Stoke from Sunderland on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

Fellow Premier League new boys West Brom swooped for AZ Alkmaar defender Ryan Donk on a season-long loan deal with a view to a permanent deal.

NEC Nijmegen signed Dutch striker Collins John on a free transfer from Fulham, subject to a medical.

The Cottagers also terminated the contract of Russian midfielder Alexey Smertin but captured Coventry midfielder Julian Gray on a season-long loan.

Daniel Cousin moved from Rangers to boost Hull’s options in attack.