Transfer deadline - Winners and losers as window closes for Yorkshire’s clubs

With hours until Sky Sports could whip themselves into a state of frenzied excitement, Marcelo Bielsa was sat behind a desk at Thorp Arch declaring himself “totally satisfied” with the business sporting director Victor Orta has done for the Whites. The aim was to add quality for the step up to the Premier League, and a Spain centre-forward (Rodrigo) and Germany centre-back (Robin Koch) have done that. Raphinha and Diego Llorente come with good pedigrees too.

Orta wanted another central midfielder but the form Rodrigo has shown out of position there dialled down the urgency. In the end there was even enough space in the budget and the squad to give Gaetano Berardi the thank you present of a one-year contract as he recovers from cruciate knee ligament damage.

Pleasingly, the arrivals of Joe Gelhardt, Charlie Allen, Cody Drameh, Crysencio Summerville, Sam Greenwood and Daniel van den Heuvel showed a club thinking about more than just their first season back in the top division.

The Blades wanted another left-sided centre-back but walked away from the prices Championship clubs were asking.

They have increased competition for places and filled the big gap left by Dean Henderson but the measure of their business will be in the goal returns of Oliver Burke and Rhian Brewster.

Sheffield Wednesday capped off a window of austerity with two loan signings of proven Championship quality in forward Jack Marriott and defender Aden Flint. Importantly, they also kept Liam Palmer and Dominic Iorfa.

Finances and a 12-point deduction were always going to make it a difficult recruitment drive but they look a bit more battle-hardened with their last three additions – Marriott, Flint and Callum Paterson.

With the likes of Tom Anderson and James Coppinger already in situ, youth is the route Doncaster Rovers are taking so two more Premier League loans on deadline day in Josh Sims and Welsh international Matt Smith looked like job done. The Keepmoat is fast becoming a renowned finishing school under Darren Moore.

The £1.25m arrival of Liverpool’s Herbie Kane and the return of Matty James on loan came too late to prevent Gerhard Struber’s departure from Barnsley but at least there was a new contract for forward Cauley Woodrow.

A new coach is the signing the Reds most need to get right and the chosen one will have to revitalise Woodrow, whose goal return has dipped alarmingly.

Rotherham United acted to replace injured winger Chiedozie Ogbene with Florian Jozefzoon, and moved out Laurence Bilboe and Jamie Proctor, the latter on loan.

Huddersfield Town’s failure to reinvest any of the £19m received for Karlan Grant and Terence Kongolo on Thursday, with an 11th-hour deal for winger Rolando Aarons apparently falling through, is a concern. Football League clubs must strike a fine balance between pandemic prudence and timidity and despite the calibre of Pipa and loanee Carel Eiting they are asking a lot of Carlos Corberan’s coaching skills.

Having learnt a few lessons about over-ambition the hard way, Bradford City are sure of the path they have to tread.

“We’ll carry on in the self-sustaining manner that we’ve done,” said chief executive Julian Rhodes. “That might not be ‘sexy’ or ambitious as people say but as we’ve proved before it’s possible to start progressing under those circumstances.”

It meant a quiet day at Valley Parade, where Stuart McCall has tried to blend youth and experience in a tighter squad.

Like Leeds, Hull and Harrogate Town’s starts to life in new divisions were reflected in their lack of last-day shopping. The groundwork has been laid and the early signs are promising.

Harrogate’s Simon Weaver said a month ago he would rather keep money behind in case it is needed in January and the next window is after all only 11 weeks away.

Not that Neil Warnock will necessarily wait that long after Middlesbrough drew a blank on the last day of shopping. He was unable to add to Grant Hall, Marcus Bettinelli, Sam Morsy, Chuba Akpom and Patrick Roberts – quality additions but not enough to bulk out what is, by his own admission, a thin-looking squad but is already familiar with the list of free agents. He will probably be on the phone if not today when his side hosts Reading, then probably tomorrow.

The transfer merry-go-round never stops completely.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today.

Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

So, please - if you can - pay for our work. Just £5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

Thank you

James Mitchinson