EPL: 5 Players To Look Out for on the First Weekend After the Transfer Deadline

The transfer deadline has closed amidst much buying and selling of players on the final day, by clubs at both ends of the EPL.

While some clubs bought players to add experience and depth to their squad, others sold or loaned out their players. With the transfer window closed until January, the focus now turns into the Premier League, which restarts after an international break.

In the following slides we take a look at the players to watch out for over the weekend.

Peter Crouch

The lanky English striker had fallen out of favor at White Hart Lane during last season, and had struggled to make regular first-team appearances for Spurs.

When Stoke arrived with their bid for the England international, the guarantee of regular first-team chances proved too much for the Crouchinho to reject, and he agreed to join the Potters on a four-year deal.

Crouch is expected to make the starting line-up when Stoke take on his former Liverpool at the Britannia Stadium.

It will be interesting to watch whether Crouch is able to live up to his value, and score a goal on his debut against the club where he earned fame and respect.

The bets will be high on this one, as Crouch also will look to prove his worth to Spurs manager Harry Redknapp.

Emmanuel Adebayor

Manchester City's unwanted striker Emmanuel Adebayor has seen his bright career slowly fade away since his move away from Arsenal.

He had a successful first season with the big-spending City, but then the arrival of new strikers moved him down the pecking order. He secured a loan deal to Real Madrid in the January transfer window, performing impressively amongst their Galacticos.

He had hoped for a move away from Eastlands in the new season, but with no clubs showing interest the Togo striker's future looked dull.

The arrival of Aguero signalled the end of his career at City, and manager Roberto Mancini brought the curtains down when he stated that Adebayor did not feature in his future plans and could leave. 

He was even not allowed to train with the first team, and the tall striker cut a sorry figure at the Eastlands club.

But then Spurs boss Harry Redknapp provided him a lifeline, offering a season long loan deal to which the player readily agreed. With Harry's boys looking out of ideas upfront, Adebayor was brought in to add some firepower for the White Hart Lane outfit.

The Togo striker is expected to make his debut for his new club against Wolves. People will be watching to see whether he can fulfill Harry's expectations, and prove his worth by scoring goals.

Mikel Arteta

It took a humilating drubbing at the hands of Manchester United to finally convince Arsene Wenger to spend big.

Arsenal were weakened by the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri earlier in the transfer window, but Wenger still stuck with his young players, stating that the departures would not affect them much.

But after the 8-2 drubbing by The Red Devils, Wenger faced severe criticism, and in a bid to silence his critics he made some last minute signings to reinforce his squad.

Among those was Everton's 29-year-old Spanish playmaker Mikel Arteta. The talented player has seen much of his career hampered by season-long injuries, but Wenger marketed his new signing as the natural replacement for departed captain Fabregas.

The former Everton man is expected to add some much needed experience to Wenger's young squad. When the Gunners face Swansea at home this weekend, all eyes will be on how the Spaniard delivers on his debut in Arsenal shirt.

Luka Modric

Chelsea's failed attempt to sign Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric was the most nagging transfer saga of the summer window.

The Blues had been chasing the creative Croat since the end of the last season, as new manager Villas Boas looked to add youth and creativity to his squad's ageing midfield.

Chelsea's attempt to lure away the talented Croatian away from White Hart Lane was severely criticised by both Spurs manager Harry Redknapp, and chairman Andrew Levy. The chairman repeatedly stated that their prized midfielder was not for sale.

The player's transfer request was turned down, and Chelsea's record-breaking bid of £40 million was also turned down by Spurs. Modric had been citing injury and lack of match fitness to avoid playing for Spurs, in what was seen as an attempt to force through a move before the deadline day.

With the the deadline passed, and the move falling through, it will be interesting to watch how he responds if, and only if, he takes the field. Though Modric has not expressed his displeasure in public, it is normal for him to be dissatisfied.

Spurs, on the other hand, have looked bereft of ideas in the absence of their star midfielder, and will be hoping Modric gets back up and running if they are to get back on track.

So when Harry's boys face an in-form Wolves it will be left to see whether the transfer failure has affected the Croatian, or whether he performs at his best.

Juan Mata

Chelsea's new signing has been touted as one of the best signings this summer, and the Spaniard has already shown plenty of promise on his debut.

The former Valencia man started his Premier League career with a bang, scoring on his debut against Norwich. After coming on as substitute, Mata created some superb goal-scoring chances for Torres, before scoring one by himself. 

His exploits on the field have not gone unnoticed, and when Chelsea face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light this weekend, Mata is likely to get a call up for the starting 11. An away game at Sunderland is always a tough job, and all eyes will be on the Spaniard to see if he can live up to his promise, and deliver another impressive performance for the Blues.

The extremely talented midfielder has been brought in to create goal-scoring chances for Torres with his creativity, which Chelsea have failed to do regularly. So when the Blues face the Black Cats this weekend, it will be interesting to watch whether the Spaniard is able to create chances for Chelsea's £50 million misfiring striker.