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South African football star Benni McCarthy - Source: Getty Images -
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Premier League strugglers West Ham United signed three strikers on a quiet final day of business before the winter transfer window closed on Tuesday.
The east London club, battling to avoid relegation, acquired South African striker Benni McCarthy, Egypt striker Mido and Brazilian striker Ilan in a bid to boost their prospects of staying up.
They were among the busiest clubs as a slow month of business ended with KPMG's Football Transfer Window Monitor report showing clubs spent just 41.5 million pounds (NZ$94 million) in the month, little more than 20% of the estimated 190.5 million pounds ($429m) spent a year ago.
The drop in spending was no surprise to financier Paul Miller,
the former Tottenham Hotspur defender who specialises in football
finances.
"The reason why it is the lowest amount spent in the modern day
transfer window is because all the banks have reduced the clubs'
overdrafts rather than extend them," Miller told Reuters.
"But whereas two or three years ago a Premier League club could easily have 40 or 50 million pounds overdraft, now its frowned upon. The banks won't allow it and the clubs don't have the money to spend."
McCarthy, 32, joined relegation-threatened West Ham on a permanent deal from Premier League rivals Blackburn Rovers, five years after a planned move to the London club fell through, while Mido signed a four-month deal.
Mido technically moved on loan from Middlesbrough, who hold his permanent contract, although he has been playing for Zamalek in Egypt on loan this season.
Brazilian Ilan, 29, joined the Hammers on loan until the end of the season from St Etienne, with the option of a possible two year deal after that.
Moses moves
In other moves, Wigan Athletic signed Crystal Palace's
highly-promising 19-year-old Victor Moses for around 2.5 million
pounds (NZ$5.5 million) and Bolivia striker Marcelo Moreno joined
the club on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Former England Under-21 winger, 22-year-old Adam Johnson moved from
Middlesbrough to Manchester City on a 4-1/2 year deal for an
undisclosed sum.
Stoke City also confirmed on their website they had signed Portsmouth's No.2 goalkeeper, Bosnian international Asmir Begovic, who had a run in the Pompey side when England keeper David James was injured.
Those permanent deals were the only ones confirmed before the deadline with almost every other deal involving a Premier League club being for a loan period.
"Apart from Manchester City and Real Madrid hardly any money was
spent last summer. Now January has followed -- very little money
spent in Europe, very little spent here, and I think the trend will
continue next summer," Miller added.
Busy Spurs
Harry Redknapp, the manager of Miller's former club Tottenham, was however, busy as usual - but made no permanent deals after signing Younes Kaboul from Portsmouth on Sunday.
Spurs' Scotland international defender Alan Hutton joined Sunderland on loan and young defender Kyle Naughton moved to Middlesbrough until the end of the season.
Ireland international Robbie Keane also left White Hart Lane on loan and went to Celtic, a year after moving back to Spurs from Liverpool.
Celtic earlier completed the loan signing of Fulham's Senegal striker Diomansy Kamara until the end of the season.
Fulham signed England defender Nicky Shorey on loan from Aston Villa, and have also completed a loan deal for 20-year-old striker Stefano Okaka from AS Roma and the 100,000 pounds signing of young Liverpool midfielder Christopher Buchtmann.
Confirmed signings:
Gareth Ainsworth [QPR - Wycombe] Free
John Akinde [Bristol City - Brentford] Loan
Troy Archibald-Henville [Tottenham - Exeter] Undisclosed
Asmir Begovic [Portsmouth - Stoke] ý3.25m
Marcus Bent [Birmingham - QPR] Loan
Leon Best [Coventry - Newcastle] Undisclosed
Danny Boshell [Grimsby - Chesterfield] Free
Edson Braafheid [Bayern Munich - Celtic] Loan
Wayne Brown [Fulham - Bristol Rovers] Loan
Alex Bruce [Ipswich - Leicester] Loan
Christopher Buchtmann [Liverpool - Fulham] Undisclosed
Richie Byrne [unattached - Darlington]
DJ Campbell [Leicester - Blackpool] Loan
Graham Carey [Celtic - St Mirren] Loan
Robbie Clark [Doncaster - Brigg] Loan
Jack Cork [Chelsea - Burnley] Loan
Daniel Cousin [Hull - Larissa] Loan
Paul Coutts [Peterborough - Preston] Undisclosed
Tom Denton [Huddersfield - Wakefield] Loan
Stephen Dobbie [Swansea - Blackpool] Loan
Daryl Duffy [Bristol Rovers - Carlisle] Loan
Andy Ferrell [York - Gateshead] Undisclosed
Darryl Flahavan [Crystal Palace - Oldham] Loan
Geremi [Newcastle - Ankaragucu] Undisclosed
Marc Goodfellow [Burton - Kidderminster] Loan
Peter Halmosi [Hull - Szombathely Haladas] Loan
Ed Harris [QPR - Hayes & Yeading] Loan
David Healy [Sunderland - Ipswich] Loan
Paul Heckingbottom [Mansfield - Gateshead] Loan
Stephen Henderson [Bristol City - Aldershot] Loan
Paul Huntington [Leeds - Stockport] Free
Stephen Husband [Hearts - Blackpool] Undisclosed
Alan Hutton [Tottenham - Sunderland] Loan
Adam Johnson [Middlesbrough - Manchester City] Undisclosed
Damien Johnson [Birmingham - Plymouth] Free
Toni Kallio [Fulham - Sheffield United] Loan
Diomansy Kamara [Fulham - Celtic] Loan
Oliver Lancashire [Southampton - Grimsby] Loan
Steven Lennon [Rangers - Lincoln City] Loan
Jonathan Lund [Burnley - Rotherham] Loan
Steven MacLean [Plymouth - Aberdeen] Loan
Ben Marshall [Stoke - Carlisle] Loan
Shelton Martis [West Brom - Doncaster] Undisclosed
Clark Masters [Aldershot - Hayes & Yeading] Free
Benni McCarthy [Blackburn - West Ham] Undisclosed
Damien McCrory [Plymouth - Dagenham & Redbridge]
Undisclosed
Scott McDonald [Celtic - Middlesbrough] Undisclosed
Kevin McLeod [Brighton - Wycombe] Free
Mido [Middlesbrough - West Ham] Loan
Lee Miller [Aberdeen - Middlesbrough] Undisclosed
Victor Moses [Crystal Palace - Wigan] Undisclosed
Daryl Murphy [Sunderland - Ipswich] Loan
Antonio Murray [unattached - Cambridge Utd]
Kyle Naughton [Tottenham - Middlesbrough] Loan
Lewis Nightingale [Huddersfield - Wakefield] Loan
Nyron Nosworthy [Sunderland - Sheffield United]
David Nugent [Portsmouth - Burnley] Loan
Stefano Okaka [Roma - Fulham] Loan
Alessandro Pellicori [QPR - AC Mantova] Loan
Jason Price [Millwall - Oldham] Loan
Aleksander Prijovic [Derby - FC Sion] Free
Tamas Priskin [Ipswich - QPR] Loan
David Prutton [Leeds - Colchester] Free
Ryan Pryce [unattached - Salisbury]
Michael Raynes [Stockport - Scunthorpe] Undisclosed
Jay Rodriguez [Burnley - Barnsley] Loan
Lathaniel Rowe-Turner [Leicester - Torquay] Undisclosed
Adam Rundle [Rochdale - Chesterfield] Free
Paul Slane [Motherwell - Celtic] Undisclosed
Nicky Shorey [Aston Villa - Fulham] Loan
Andwele Slory [Feyenoord - West Brom] Free
Akpo Sodje [Sheffield Wednesday - Charlton] Loan
Marvin Sordell [Watford - Tranmere] Loan
Andrejs Stolcers [Bath City - Hayes & Yeading] Free
Michael Tonge [Stoke - Derby] Loan
Keith Treacy [Blackburn - Preston] Undisclosed
Javan Vidal [Manchester City - Derby] Loan
James Walker [Southend - Gillingham] Free
Peter Winn [Scunthorpe - Gateshead] Loan
