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From Iturbe to Imbula: The day-by-day story of the transfer window

story of Jan deadline day 2016

It was another hectic transfer window with all 20 Premier League clubs seeing players either come in or go out the door.

Newcastle were the biggest spenders overall but there were also high-profile deals for the likes of Bournemouth, Everton, Norwich, Swansea and Watford.

Stoke then pulled off the biggest incoming transfer in Europe in the final hour of the window when they signed Giannelli Imbula from Porto in an £18.3m deal.

Here's the day-by-day story of how the transfer window played out for the Premier League teams...

January 2

Argentine winger Juan Iturbe became the Premier League's first new arrival of the January transfer window when he rejected interest from Watford to sign for Bournemouth from Roma.

Bournemouth signing Juan Iturbe in action against Portsmouth in the FA Cup
Image: Juan Iturbe made his Bournemouth debut in their FA Cup tie against Portsmouth

The highly-rated 22-year-old joined the Cherries on loan with a view to a permanent transfer just a year and a half after Roma paid 30m euros to sign him from Verona. "It's a big opportunity for me," he said. "I'd like to thank everyone for making this move happen and I'm very pleased to be here."

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January 4

Leicester were the next Premier League club to bolster their squad with teenage winger Demarai Gray from Birmingham City. The Foxes paid £3.75m for Gray, who had previously been linked with the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham. "I am sure Demarai Gray will improve my team," said Claudio Ranieri, who also revealed Leicester had tried to sign the 19-year-old in the summer.

 Leicester City unveil new signing Demarai Gray
Image: Leicester paid £3.75m to sign Demarai Gray from Birmingham City

Elsewhere in the Premier League, West Ham midfielder Diego Poyet was sent back to former club Charlton on loan for the rest of the season.

January 6

Liverpool completed the first signing of Jurgen Klopp era with a £5.1m deal for Red Star Belgrade midfielder Marko Grujic on January 6. The 19-year-old returned to Red Star on loan until the end of the season, but not before endearing himself to Liverpool supporters. "I can't wait to get started," he said. "I want to play in front of one of the loudest set of fans in Europe at Anfield."

New signing Marko Grujic of Liverpool is unveiled at Melwood Training Ground (GETTY PREMIUM)
Image: Marko Grujic poses with the Liverpool shirt at their Melwood training ground

January 7

Having spent the previous three months on loan at Coventry City from Aston Villa, 56-cap England international Joe Cole made the move permanent on January 7. "He's great to have around the dressing room and the rest of the squad feed off his experience," said a delighted Coventry manager Tony Mowbray.

German International Jan Kirchhoff poses after completing his move to Sunderland AFC at the Academy of Light
Image: Jan Kirchhoff joined Sunderland from Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich

On the same day, Sunderland completed the £750,000 signing of German defender Jan Kirchhoff from Bayern Munich. Ten days later, the 24-year-old endured a debut to forget in the Black Cats' 4-1 defeat to Tottenham.

January 8

Norwich were next to act when they clinched the signing of Dinamo Zagreb right-back Ivo Pinto for £2.2m. "We watched him in the flesh at Arsenal when he played against the likes of Alexis Sanchez and we watched him against Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich so we have seen him against a high calibre of opposition," said Norwich manager Alex Neil. "He ticks all the boxes."

January 10

Two days before facing West Ham in the Premier League, Bournemouth clinched a club record £10m deal to sign Benik Afobe from Wolves. The Arsenal youth product endured a difficult debut but scored in each of his next two appearances.

Benik Afobe of Bournemouth during the Barclays Premier League match between A.F.C. Bournemouth and Norwich City
Image: Benik Afobe has scored twice in his first three Bournemouth appearances

January 11

Bournemouth sealed their next signing just 24 hours later, as Lewis Grabban returned to the club from Norwich for £7m. At the other end of the country, Newcastle kicked off their January spending with a £5m deal for Bordeaux's Henri Saivet.

Lewis Grabban scores for Norwich against Arsenal
Image: Lewis Grabban rejoined Bournemouth after 18 months with Norwich

January 12

One of the most unexpected deals of the month saw QPR defender Steven Caulker move to Liverpool on loan just a few weeks after a defensive horror show from the centre-back in the Reds' 6-1 thrashing of Southampton in the Capital One Cup.

Steven Caulker of Liverpool in action during a training session at Melwood Training Ground on January 12, 2016 in Liverpool, England
Image: Steven Caulker joined Liverpool on loan in a surprise move

Newcastle, meanwhile, followed up their deal for Saivet with the £12m signing of Jonjo Shelvey. "I drove up through the night to be here so it's been a manic 24 hours, but it's all been worth it to come here and play for this great club," said the midfielder.

January 14

Arsenal tend to leave it late in the transfer window but they wrapped up the signing of Mohamed Elneny from Basel with weeks to spare after overcoming work permit and registration issues. "He can be box-to-box and be a holding midfielder so that is for us very promising," explained Arsene Wenger. "We wanted a versatile player."

New Arsenal signing Mohamed Elneny at London Colney
Image: Arsenal signing Mohamed Elneny provides versatility, says Wenger

Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce continued his January business with a loan deal for Trabzonspor striker Dame N'Doye, who scored five goals in 15 appearances for Hull City in 2014/15.

January 15

Manchester City's only signing of the January transfer window was that of 23-year-old midfielder Anthony Caceres from Australian side Central Coast Mariners. A few days after joining City, he was sent on loan to their sister club Melbourne City - a move which angered their A-League rivals.

January 16

In need of goals to turn their season around, Southampton turned to Charlie Austin, agreeing a £4m deal with QPR as he entered the final six months of his contract. The 26-year-old is a proven Premier League goalscorer, and he got off to the perfect start by scoring the Saints' winner on his debut against Manchester United.

The Southampton club shop displays Charlie Austin's No 28 shirt
Image: The Southampton club shop displays Charlie Austin's No 28 shirt

January 18

A run of four consecutive Premier League defeats sparked Watford into action, with Moroccan winger Nordin Amrabat joining the club from Malaga for £6.1m. Norwich, meanwhile, continued their January spending with a £7.6m deal to sign Swiss defender Timm Klose from Wolfsburg.

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New Watford signing Nordin Amrabat told Sky Sports News that it's a dream come true for him to play in the Premier League

January 19

Another day, another big money deal for Norwich. Steven Naismith was the next new arrival at Carrow Road, making an £8m move from Everton after falling down the pecking order under Roberto Martinez.

Steven Naismith (third left) celebrates with team-mates after putting Norwich 2-1 up
Image: Steven Naismith scored on his Norwich debut against Liverpool

Watford completed the signing of Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon to provide competition for Heurelho Gomes, and there was also a left-field move for former Arsenal, Liverpool and Stoke winger Jermaine Pennant, who signed a 12-month contract with Singapore's Tampines Rovers.

January 20

No transfer window is complete without a good old fashioned hijacking, and West Ham's move for Sam Byram was exactly that. The 22-year-old looked set for Everton after the Toffees agreed a fee with Leeds but the Hammers swooped in at the eleventh hour. Soon enough, Byram was posing in claret and blue.

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Slaven Bilic says former Leeds youngster Sam Byram is a good buy for West Ham

January 20 was also a day of striker departures, with Leicester's Andrej Kramaric heading to Hoffenheim and Sunderland's Danny Graham signing for Blackburn, both on loan deals. Meanwhile, Bournemouth's Yann Kermorgant moved to Reading on a permanent deal.

January 21

Papy Djilobodji, we hardly knew, yet Chelsea caught just about everyone by surprise when they signed the little-known defender from Nantes in the summer - with even Jose Mourinho admitting he had never seen him play. Six months and one substitute appearance later, the 27-year-old was packed off to Werder Bremen on loan.

Senegal's Papy Djilobodji (2nd L) vies for the ball with Tunisia's Hamza Mathlouthi (R)  during the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying
Image: Senegal's Papy Djilobodji made just one appearance for Chelsea before leaving on loan

Across London, Mauro Zarate had featured rather more frequently for West Ham, but his performances were inconsistent and the Hammers were happy to sell the mercurial Argentine to Fiorentina.

January 22

Leicester strengthened their squad with the £5m addition of versatile Ghana international Daniel Amartey from FC Copenhagen. "All over Europe, people are talking about Leicester and how well the club is doing in the Premier League," Amartey said. "The team plays exciting, attacking football and I'm looking forward to being part of it."

Steve Harper in tears as he plays his final match for Newcastle in May 2013
Image: Steve Harper's move to Sunderland provoked an angry reaction from many Newcastle supporters

At the other end of the table, struggling Sunderland signed former Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper on a free transfer to provide cover between the sticks. Needless to say, the move did not go down too well with Toon fans…

January 24

Victor Valdes' Manchester United hell finally came to an end when he signed for Standard Liege on January 24. The three-time Champions League winner had not played for the Red Devils since May having fallen out with Louis van Gaal, but he's hoping to get his career back on track in Belgium.

"He wants to prove he's not dead," said Standard manager Yannick Ferrera.

Manchester United players including goalkeepers David de Gea and Victor Valdes watch the game from the stands as Roy Hodgson watches from the row below
Image: Victor Valdes left Manchester United after being frozen out by Louis van Gaal

January 26

The return of Emmanuel Adebayor. Four months after reaching an agreement to terminate his contract at Tottenham, the Togolese striker signed for Alan Pardew's Crystal Palace on a short-term contract. Adebayor's talent is not in question, now it's just a question of ensuring it comes out on the pitch. Admitting he needed to Google Crystal Palace was probably not the best way to start.

Emmanuel Adebayor signs for Crystal Palace
Image: Emmanuel Adebayor signed a short-term contract with Crystal Palace

Christian Atsu didn't have much luck on loan at Bournemouth in the first half of the season, but the Chelsea winger will be hoping to have more of an impact in La Liga having joined Malaga for the rest of the campaign.

January 27

With the deadline drawing ever closer, two of the biggest deals of the window went through on January 27. First, Ramires became the latest Premier League star to move to the cash-rich Chinese Super League, with Chelsea banking £25m from his transfer to Jiangsu Suning.

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Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink was full of praise for Ramires after the midfielder left the club for China

Then, following weeks of gruelling negotiations with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, Newcastle confirmed a £12m deal for England's Andros Townsend. "Newcastle was the right club for me at this stage of my career," he said. "I had a good chat with the manager and he seems to know the way I play inside out."

Andros Townsend poses for photographs (GETTY PREMIUM)
Image: Andros Townsend poses with the Newcastle shirt after his £12m move from Spurs

Elsewhere, Lamine Kone joined Sunderland from Lorient and Lee Tomlin left Bournemouth to join Bristol City on loan.

January 29

More deals were completed up and down the country on Friday, with Alexandre Pato the headline arrival at Chelsea. The Blues signed the Brazilian on loan from Corinthians until the end of the season, and they are hoping the Brazilian can get his career back on track in west London.

Alexandre Pato poses with Chelsea shirt, Cobham
Image: Alexandre Pato signed for Chelsea on a loan until the end of the season

Swansea, meanwhile, brought in a new striker of their own, paying £8m to sign Alberto Paloschi from Chievo. The former Italy U21 international worked with new Swans head coach Francesco Guidolin for two seasons at Parma, and he's charged with firing the Welsh club to safety. "I know the expectation is to score goals and I've come here to do that," he said.

Alberto Paloschi of AC Chievo Verona
Image: Italian striker Alberto Paloschi joined Swansea from Serie A side Chievo

Elsewhere, QPR midfielder Sandro returned to the Premier league with a loan move to West Brom following an injury-hit spell at Loftus Road.

January 30

Pato's arrival at Chelsea pushed Patrick Bamford further down the pecking order, so it was no surprise to see him depart just 24 hours later. The 22-year-old had attracted plenty of interest, but Norwich won the race for his signature to land him on loan until the end of the season and make him their sixth January signing.

Chelsea's new signing Matt Miazga at the Cobham Training Ground
Image: Matt Miazga poses with the Chelsea shirt after signing a four-and-a-half year contract at their Cobham training ground

There was also news of another new arrival at Stamford Bridge, with United States defender Matt Miazga arriving on a four-and-a-half year contract from New York Red Bulls for £3.5m. The 20-year-old described Chelsea as "the place to develop and learn from some of the best players in the world".

Who is Matt Miazga?
Who is Matt Miazga?

We profile Chelsea's new 20-year-old defender.

Sunderland signed attacking midfielder Wahbi Khazri from Bordeaux for £9m, and Watford were also busy, with Fiorentina midfielder Mario Suarez arriving at Vicarage Road for £4.1m.

January 31

The penultimate day of the transfer window saw Nigerian striker Emmanuel Emenike arrive at West Ham on loan until the end of the season, while Newcastle sent winger Florian Thauvin back to Marseille on loan after a dismal spell at St James' Park.

Emmanuel Emenike signs for West Ham United, Upton Park
Image: Emmanuel Emenike worked with West Ham boss Slaven Bilic at Besiktas

February 1

Everton were among the big spenders on deadline day as they paid £13.5m to sign forward Oumar Niasse from Lokomotiv Moscow. Newcastle continued their busy window with the loan signing of Seydou Doumbia from Roma.

Watford were the focus of much attention in the afternoon as they brought in midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure from Rennes and Venezuelan forward Adalberto Penaranda from Udinese. Both will go on loan to Granada for the remainder of the campaign.

Everton unveil new signing Oumar Niasse (GETTY PREMIUM)
Image: Everton boss Roberto Martinez with new signing Oumar Niasse

Other loan deals included Leroy Fer signing for Swansea from Queens Park Rangers and Sunderland striker Steven Fletcher departing for Marseille.

But the biggest signing by any Premier League club came in the final hour when Stoke completed an £18.3m deal for Porto midfielder Giannelli Imbula.