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Crystal Palace sign Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi on last-gasp loan

The Eagles confirmed the deal for the Belgian an hour after the transfer deadline

Sports Editor

Thursday 31 January 2019 23:01 GMT

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January transfer window 2019: Premier League transfer round-up

Crystal Palace have secured a last-gasp loan deal for Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi.

A ‘deal sheet’ was filed moments before the 11pm deadline on Thursday, with all the paperwork finalised just before midnight.

A permanent deal was never on the table, with Palace unwilling to meet Chelsea’s £35m asking price, and personal terms were agreed quickly between the representatives of the two clubs and the player.

Speaking after the signing was announced, Palace’s club chairman Steve Parish said: “This is a fantastic signing for Crystal Palace.

“Michy is a player we’ve long admired, and I’m delighted that we’ve finally managed to get him in a red and blue shirt. He will be a magnificent addition to our squad.”

The 10 strangest January deadline day transfers

Show all 10

1/10The 10 strangest January deadline day transfers

The 10 strangest January deadline day transfers

Andrey Arshavin – Zenit to Arsenal, 2009

The deal to sign Russian international midfielder Arshavin, who went on to score 23 goals in 105 appearances for the Gunners, was a long drawn out dramatic affair that appeared would never cross the line on deadline day ten years ago with the deal not officially ratified until February 3 owing to the Premier League checking whether all necessary paperwork had been completed in time.

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The 10 strangest January deadline day transfers

Benjani Mwaruwari – Portsmouth to Manchester City, 2008

Lots of layers to this one, so bear with me. Reports have it that Zimbabwe striker Benjani fell asleep in Southampton airport on deadline day subsequently missing two flights on his way to signing for City, causing the deal to almost be scuppered as time nearly ran out to get the paperwork sent off. It was later sanctioned by Premier League officials but only after City had tried to back out of the deal.

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The 10 strangest January deadline day transfers

Peter Odemwingie – absolutely nowhere, 2013

Odemwingie, who had a transfer request to leave West Brom rejected days earlier while the club also rejected a bid from QPR, drove to Loftus Road seemingly in the belief that a transfer was imminent. The only problem was, it wasn’t. In a bizarre misunderstanding, Odemwingie was barred from entering and had to drive all the way back without his desired move.

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The 10 strangest January deadline day transfers

Rafael van der Vaart – Real Madrid to Tottenham, 2010

It was an anxious wait to see if Dutch midfielder van der Vaart would join Spurs in 2010 when a paperwork problem, as always seems to crop up, put the move in jeopardy. The Premier League, though, granted special dispensation for the transfer to go through after looking into the technical problems that hampered it.

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The 10 strangest January deadline day transfers

Andy Carroll – Newcastle to Liverpool, 2011

Fresh from losing Fernando Torres to Chelsea in a record-breaking £50m transfer to Chelsea earlier on deadline day Liverpool pressed the big red button labelled ‘PANIC’ and signed Carroll for a club record £36m, the paperwork eventually being completed just minutes before the deadline.

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The 10 strangest January deadline day transfers

Mike Arteta – Everton to Arsenal, 2011

Players have also swayed late moves in their favour as in 2011 with Everton midfielder Arteta. The Spaniard had been the subject of several early offers from Arsenal, deemed too low, but Arteta played his hand very late on deadline day, telling Everton he wanted to leave and would take a pay cut if necessary.

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

The 10 strangest January deadline day transfers

Hatem Ben Arfa – Newcastle to Hull (loan), 2014

Hull left it very late to complete the signing of Ben Arfa on loan in January 2014. The Frenchman was given permission to leave Newcastle late on deadline day and, to make matters worse, he got lost on his way to Hull, but eventually turned up at 11.30pm.

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The 10 strangest January deadline day transfers

Benik Afobe – Bournemouth to Wolves (loan), 2018

Deadline day confusion can become too much sometimes and this proved the case for Bournemouth man Afobe who revealed that he cried tears of joy after his return to Wolves was confirmed 20 minutes before the window shut in 2018, with the deal pendulum swinging between being on and off several times on the day.

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The 10 strangest January deadline day transfers

Jack Hendry – Dundee to Celtic, 2018

Dundee defender Hendry was another to be signed on deadline day with mere moments to go as Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers left it extremely late in dramatically swooping for the rival defender with bitter enemies Rangers prepared to hijack the deal on the day as it appeared that Celtic were going to miss out.

AFP/Getty Images

The 10 strangest January deadline day transfers

Louis Rooney – Plymouth to Hartlepool (loan), 2017

It might not be the most headline of signings on a January transfer deadline day but it may be one of the latest. With just 17 seconds to go before the 11pm deadline the deal to sign striker Rooney was officially finalised.

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The Eagles were interested in Batshuayi during his time at Marseille and then again before he went on loan to Valencia, the club at which he spent the first half of this season before being cast out by under-fire boss Marcelino.

Valencia told Batshuayi and Chelsea earlier this month that the Belgian was no longer in their plans and that he was free to find another club, with interest from a host of Premier League and La Liga sides in taking him on loan.

On deadline day there were outline agreements for Batshuayi to move to Real Betis and West Ham United, only for sources at West Ham to later say Batshuayi had priced himself out of a move with his salary expectations.

Batshuayi’s loan to Valencia was cancelled yesterday (Getty)

Palace have spent much of this month cutting salaries from their wage bill, with Jonny Williams, Jason Puncheon and Jordon Mutch all leaving the club and Alexander Sorloth loaned out.

Bakary Sako rejoined from West Bromwich Albion on a short-term deal and Brazilian goalkeeper Lucas Perri arrived on loan.

Roy Hodgson appeared to criticise Palace’s transfer policy in his press conference on Thursday, suggesting he had no need for a new goalkeeper.

While the squad is considered a little thin in some areas, the injury crisis up front appeared to have abated with Connor Wickham and Christian Benteke both returning to full fitness in recent weeks and impressing the coaching staff.

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