While Arsenal were busy offloading some of their unwanted stars, their archrivals and North London neighbors Tottenham Hotspur were making some exciting moves in deadline day of the transfer window.
Spurs, who lost Luka Modric to Real Madrid a few days ago, snapped up France international goalkeeper Hugo Lloris from Lyon and Clint Dempsey from Fulham to cap an impressive final week of the transfer window, in which they also brought in Moussa Dembele, after completing the permanent signing of Emmanuel Adebayor.
The signing of Andre Villas-Boas' prime target, Joao Moutinho, however, could not be completed with the deal falling apart after both clubs had agreed a fee believed to be around £22 million ($34.9 million), a record fee for Spurs. The move broke down at the final minute, due to a third-party involvement, who reportedly owns 15 percent of Moutinho's economic rights.
Spurs also let go of one of their high-profile players, with Rafael Van der Vaart signing for his old club Hamburg after the German club agreed a fee of around £10 million ($15.8 million), while Giovanni dos Santos joined Mallorca with Harry Kane and Danny Rose sealing loan deals to Norwich City and Sunderland respectively.
"I'm very excited and looking forward to the challenge," Dempsey, who had refused to play for Fulham this season hoping for a move to Liverpool, told the club's official website, after completing a last-minute move.
"To play under this head coach and play for this club is a dream come true. I want to make the most of it and work as hard as I can to get onto the field and do well.
"There are a lot of great players here, I'm looking forward to training and playing with them and trying to fight for a spot in the team.
"A lot was said and written ahead of me leaving Fulham. It wasn't how it was portrayed, but that's in the past now and we move on.
"I want to thank the fans for everything, some of the best memories I've had in football and thank the chairman for giving me the opportunity to come from the MLS and compete over here.
"All I can say is thank you and now I'm looking forward to the next challenge."
