David De Gea, Peter Odemwingie and the 18 weirdest transfer deadline day stories

Classic tales of the bizarre from the strangest day in the football calender

Peter Odemwingie of West Bromwich Albion waves as he warms up prior to the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and West Bromwich Albion (Getty Images)

Every transfer deadline day you wonder why football clubs, who on the surface are supposed to be efficiently run businesses, often leave things so late.

In light of David De Gea's collapsed move from Manchester United to Real Madrid, this one has been no different.

After weeks of build up clubs end up scrambling around for players like desperate Christmas Eve shoppers in a petrol station.

Much of the day involves endless rolling Sky Sports News bulletins involving Jim White shouting a lot, dubious sources indicating an imminent mega-move and the odd player actually changing clubs. But the bi-annual event has also led to some pretty strange occurrences.

From one player falling asleep in the airport to another driving to London only to be locked out, we collect together the weirdest deadline day tales, including a couple from the latest window - De Gea's botched transfer and Chelsea's far from high-profile defensive acquisitions.

Which transfer story do you think was the strangest of them all? Let us know in the comments below.