Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was spared his blushes, Burnley signed a giant, the Frank Lampard era began in earnest at Goodison Park, and Christian Eriksen is returning to the Premier League.
Those were just a few of the highlights as the winter transfer window closed.
1. Aubameyang almost did an Odemwingie
Former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had a nervy day.
The 32-year-old had travelled to Barcelona under the auspices of a family holiday, but also apparently in anticipation of a move to the Nou Camp.
For a while, though, the deal looked to be in jeopardy.
The whole thing evoked one of the most famous transfer deadline-day moments of all time – when Peter Odemwingie drove to Queens Park Rangers’ training ground in January 2013 only for the deal to fall through and him have to drive back to West Brom.
Even Odemwingie got in on on the analogy, tweeting this image of an award for longest drive.
In the end, the parties managed to negotiate a free transfer for Aubameyang and he was spared what could have been a very chastening trip back to London.
2. Burnley chucked Wood and brought in a man built like a house
Burnley sold big man up front Chris Wood to Newcastle for £25m and replaced him with an even bigger man up front – 6ft 6in striker Wout Weghorst.
People seemed to think it was a good marriage with Clarets boss Sean Dyche.
3. Christian Eriksen gave us a feel-good moment
It’s nice to be reminded that this silly old game of ours can still make us feel something pure.
Christian Eriksen’s return to the Premier League was the real good news story of the window.
He hasn’t played since he suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during Euro 2020, but will return at Thomas Frank’s Brentford.
There were well-wishes from some of friends, including his former club Tottenham.
Brentford have got a seriously exciting proposition on their hands too.
4. Newcastle were… very sensible
Much of the talk before the window centred on Newcastle United. Since the club’s £305m takeover in October, everyone has assumed they would throw money around like confetti this window.
In fact, they managed to make some smart signings without breaking the bank.
Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood signed earlier in the month, before the Magpies bought Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes for £35m.
And on deadline day they acquired defenders Matt Targett (on loan from Aston Villa) and Dan Burn (from Brighton), while sending out a few players on loan too.
5. Spurs finally landed some signings
It was starting to look like a frustrating window for Spurs.
They had apparently spent ages working on a deal for Colombian winger Luis Diaz, only for Liverpool to nip in late in the window.
But they managed to land a couple of big targets in Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur – both from Juventus.
We need more ginger powerhouses in the Premier League.
6. Everton hand out second chances
Everton began the day by confirming Frank Lampard as their new manager.
He seems as dedicated to being Frank Lampard as ever.
And Lampard was quickly into the transfer market – first signing Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek, who joined Everton on loan until the end of the season.
The Dutchman has only started four Premier League matches for United since joining them in 2020. The consensus there seemed to be that he couldn’t play for toffee, but Lampard clearly has different ideas.
Another player who will be hoping he can revive his career at Goodison is Dele Alli.
7. Ramsey goes north of the border
After being courted by a number of clubs, Aaron Ramsey chose to join Rangers on loan until the end of the season.
The 31-year-old Wales midfielder said: “I had a number of offers on the table, but none matched the magnitude of this club, with European football and the chance to play in front of 50,000 fans every other week.”
It’s fair to say these fans seemed happy with his signing.
8. The real winners of the transfer window were a Sunday league team
And, finally, in among all of the hubbub, one story that may have gone under the radar a little is Brazil legend Roberto Carlos agreeing to play for a Sunday league team in Shropshire.
Until the summer…
