Stoke have signed Glenn Whelan from Sheff Wed, who have brought Graham Kavanagh back to the club.
Whelan leaves for Stoke, Kavanagh returns from Sunderland
Stoke City have signed Glenn Whelan from Sheffield Wednesday, who have brought Graham Kavanagh back to the club.
Whelan was due to be out of contract at the end of the season and had been the subject of bids from Burnley and Plymouth Argyle earlier in the transfer window.
But Stoke have stumped up £500,000 to take the midfielder to the Britannia Stadium on a three-and-a-half year contract.
To compensate for Whelan's departure, the Owls have re-signed Kavanagh on loan from Sunderland for the rest of the season.
Kavanagh spent a month at Hillsborough in the autumn and Owls boss Brian Laws is happy with the late transfer dealings.
Leadership
"I would like to thank Glenn Whelan for his attitude, application and hard work since I have been at this football club," Laws told the club's official website. "The only thing he couldn't give me was his signature and I have a responsibility to Sheffield Wednesday.
"A decision had to be made whether to keep him or let him go and while he is worth a lot of money today he would have been worth virtually nothing in transfer fees tomorrow.
"I spoke to the board about this situation and they assured me that all the money from selling Glenn Whelan would go towards the playing budget. This has allowed us to bring in Graham Kavanagh in his place.
"Graham Kavanagh has already been here, but he had to go back to Sunderland after his previous loan deal ended. He showed great presence and leadership during his time here and it is no coincidence that we saw a significant upturn in results while Graham was here before, so I am delighted to be able to welcome him back."
