Scouting 5 of the Premier League's Obscure Transfer Deadline Day Signings
Transfer deadline day does crazy things to managers: It makes them panic, splurging cash they may not have on players they may not need. It's the sort of organised chaos Sky Sports' Jim White thrives on, and the watching public lap up every rumour as they watch like hawks for their own club's purported deals.
Sometimes the signings go down a treat; sometimes they don't. What's more common than the theme of success or failure, though, is the procurement of strange names from far away lands. Transfer deadline day always throws up a few exotic signings of whom fans are blissfully unaware. Remember Denis Stracqualursi?
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Here B/R runs the rule over the lesser known deadline day signings—from a Premier League perspective—and provides a few nuggets of information to start your engines.
1. Dieumerci Mbokani, Norwich City
Barring their most recent outing—a 3-0 hammering at the hands of Southampton at St Mary’s—Norwich City have produced good, fluent football since returning to the Premier League, building upon the great foundations Alex Neil set in the Championship.
But goals have been a problem; they’ve only won one game because of a lack of cutting edge when they really should have won at least two, possibly three. Cameron Jerome and Lewis Grabban are not strikers who will score enough goals to stave off relegation, and recruiting a starting centre-forward to handle the load quickly emerged as an urgent requirement.
Neil left it late, but he brought in one option before the window closed: Dieumerci Mbokani, on loan from Dynamo Kiev, has joined for the campaign with an option to buy in 2016.
"He's a big, strong No. 9. He can take the ball in, he's mobile and he's a real threat in the box,” Neil revealed, per BBC Sport. With the Canaries playing a one-striker formation most of the time, assisting midfield dominance via numerical advantage, he’s the right physical match for the position, but can he offer a greater goal threat?
In blunt terms, you’ll see a lot of Bafetimbi Gomis in him—ox-like strength and directness dominate his palette of moves, with finesse largely an unfortunate casualty. He’s colossal in the air and stands as aggressive as centre-forwards can be, using his elbows to gain leverage and his thick neck muscles to deliver height and power to his knock-ons.
His finishing is just as hit-and-miss as Gomis’ too; he won’t be topping any productivity or conversion-rate charts, and in this respect he’s not much of an upgrade on Jerome. His overall game—linking play, dropping in and making runs—is stronger, but both his domestic and international scoring records leave a little to be desired in front of goal.
It’s a roll of the dice by Neil, and it’s understandable why the 29-year-old was taken on loan rather than on a permanent deal.
2. Papy Djilobodji, Chelsea
John Stones was Plan A, but Chelsea couldn’t bend Everton to their will in negotiations. That left the hole at centre-half still very much gaping come transfer deadline day. Papy Djilobodji, a man stuck in the cold at Nantes in Ligue 1, emerged as Plan B.
He’s a player several mid-tier Premier League clubs, including Crystal Palace, were offered midway through the summer, reported by the MailOnline. All politely declined. It’s not speculation to state this was, to its very core, a panic buy. But the deal is done, so what have the Blues got?
He’s strong. He’s very, very strong. An overbearing, physical beast, Djilobodji loves to step out of the defensive line and intercept, casually shoving his marker to one side in doing so. He dives at balls, leaps into blocks and headers but lacks the finesse of a cultured, composed centre-half. A good comparison could be Kalidou Koulibaly of Napoli.
The Senegal international has shown an ability to play slightly further forward and a penchant for taking the ball out of defence. It could be that Jose Mourinho has landed himself a lesser Kurt Zouma—someone who can play centre-back but fill in as an anchor when necessary.
The fact he’s been left out of Chelsea’s UEFA Champions League squad is indicative of his talent levels; the 26-year-old is not a rough gem waiting to be unleashed, but he does have a clearly defined skill set and can be a useful situational player for the west London club.
3. Victor Ibarbo, Watford
Watford have been a little goal shy early in this campaign, sharing some dour draws that, while indicative of defensive solidity, scream the forward ranks need help. Troy Deeney was a master marksman in the Championship and Odion Ighalo chipped in with his fair share of goals. However, the former is on a pretty severe goal drought—stretching back into last season—and the latter is struggling for playing time in 2015-16.
What the Hornets appear to lack is a more mobile, direct threat either up top or from the edge. Jose Jurado has put together a few pretty games but doesn’t have much to pick out in terms of runs, while any thrust has come from Jose Holebas (left-back) or Miguel Layun (loaned to FC Porto).
That’s why loaning in Victor Ibarbo from Roma on deadline day was a wise choice. He possesses that direct, overbearing style and the physicality to match. He’s fast—really fast—and unnaturally strong too.
But as with Mbokani, the decision to borrow him is wise. He can be an incredibly frustrating player to watch, as he very rarely gets his head up and frequently dribbles into trouble. He’s capable of some mesmerising runs and slaloms, but he also tends to overcomplicate things, running into busy areas unnecessarily.
He’ll work hard, track back and provide some stellar moments, giving Watford the drive and penetration their flatter performances have perhaps lacked, but he’s not a reliable, 10-goal player. It will be interesting to see what the fans’ opinions of him will be.
4. Michail Antonio, West Ham United
Michail Antonio has been around for quite a while and taken in his fair share of loans but has now finally blossomed into a productive forward. “What I bring to the table is pace, power and goals,” he declared to the Evening Standard upon arriving at West Ham United on deadline day.
His £7 million addition paved the way for Matt Jarvis, now expendable, to join Norwich City on loan. Slaven Bilic will hope Antonio can provide the ammunition for his strikers far more consistently than Jarvis did—and fulfil his promise of goals too.
Over the last few years, the former Reading man has packed on a sizeable amount of muscle; no longer a fast but skinny runner, he can now bruise his way past markers, shoulder to shoulder, rather than simply skipping around them and scampering off. As a result of this added physicality, he’s become more comfortable nearer the central zones and can embark upon mazy dribbles in any area of the pitch.
Depending on how Bilic wants to play, Antonio can play wide (either side) or come in centrally and perhaps play off the striker if a narrow diamond is selected. He possesses great breakaway pace over the top, but he has the strength to mix it with bigger defenders too.
He’s at his best when he’s instinctive and not overthinking things, and the threat he offers on the counter—beating men, finding space and burying distance shots into the net—could meld superbly with Dimitri Payet’s superb decision-making. They could be a fearsome, penetrative duo.
5. Tiago Ilori, Aston Villa (loan)
Liverpool's decision to loan Tiago Ilori to Villa on deadline day in a deal that, crucially, can be made permanent by the Midlands club has been panned by the Anfield club's fanbase; Jack Lusby of This Is Anfield suggested the deal illustrated everything wrong and inept with the Reds' transfer approach.
This, naturally, has Villa tails wagging. A player some Liverpool fans wanted to start the 2015-16 season next to Mamadou Sakho has been given the chance to make a home in B6, and if he's utilised well by Tim Sherwood, there's every chance he'll accept a permanent move.
The Portuguese centre-back has already taken in two season-long loans away from Merseyside—one at Granada, one at Bordeaux—but saw both derailed by intermittent injury issues. What we have seen of him—either domestically or for the Portugal under-21 side—shows a calm, composed centre-back who is good on the ball and positionally very aware.
He's a teensy bit slight but does have marvellous recovery pace that allows him to be bold and mop up after himself. An aggressive tone in his game has developed, and at 6'2" he can duel with strikers as well as chase them. He's strong aerially. He doesn't shirk a challenge, but he's no Djilobodji, either.
Villa fans will be desperate to know if he can play at right-back, as that's an area of true need in their team. His ability to play either side of centre-back shows versatility, but full-back might be a step too far given his size and somatotype, even with his recovery speed. It could work, but long term it's probably not an answer.
