BIG SPENDERS
Premier League clubs spent £230 million (Dh1.15 billion) on January transfers, the second-highest total for the mid-season window, the Sports Business Group at Deloitte said in a report.
Manchester United secured former Watford striker Odion Ighalo in a shock transfer deadline day move while West Ham United bolstered their forward line with by signing prolific Hull City forward Jarrod Bowen.
In what was a mostly underwhelming final day of the January window, United added Nigeria international Ighalo, who plays for Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League, to their attacking ranks with the 30 year old moving to Old Trafford until the end of the season.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made no secret of his desire to add to his forwards especially since 19-goal striker Marcus Rashford was ruled out for several months with a back injury and the summer departures of Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan.
Ighalo joins fellow big-money signing Bruno Fernandes who was signed from Portuguese club Sporting for €55 million (Dh 224 million) rising to a possible €80 million.
Solskjaer said: "Odion is an experienced player. He will come in and give us an option of a different type of centre-forward for the short spell he's staying with us.
"A great lad and very professional, he will make the most of his time here."
United are not believed to have the option to make the loan deal permanent for a player whose attempt to leave China earlier in the week was reportedly thwarted by the knock-on effect of the coronavirus outbreak.
Ighalo moved to the Chinese Super League in 2017, first with Changchun Yatai. After two seasons he moved to Shanghai Shenhua and has scored 10 times in 19 games.
His form for his country has been eye-catching, finishing as top scorer in African Cup of Nations qualifying with seven goals, before scoring five at the tournament during the summer.
West Ham beat several Premier League rivals for the signature of Bowen, landing the 23-year-old English striker for around £20 million.
Bowen joins the Hammers on a five-and-a-half-year contract with manager David Moyes hoping Bowen can transform his form in the Championship, where he has scored 16 goals, to aid the club's survival bid.
Moyes told the club website: "When you score goals like he does, and in the numbers he does, in the Championship, it will give you a great chance of scoring goals in the Premier League."
Those deals came at the end of a quiet deadline day.
Arsenal bolstered their defence by adding Southampton's 28-year-old Portugal right-back Cedric Soares on a loan deal until the end of the season.
Manchester City defender Angelino, who has made 12 appearances for Pep Guardiola's side in all competitions this season, joined Bundesliga high-flyers RB Leipzig on loan. The German side could make the move permanent in the summer for a fee of around €30 million.
Newcastle United signed defender Danny Rose from Tottenham Hotspur on loan until the end of the season.
The 29-year-old is Newcastle manager Steve Bruce's third signing of the January transfer window and follows midfielders Valentino Lazaro and Nabil Bentaleb into the club, who are 14th in the Premier League.
"It's a great honour for me to be here," Rose, who has 29 England caps, told Newcastle's website. "I'm so grateful that the manager has brought me in and I'm looking to repay him in every way I can as soon as I'm playing."
Rose had said in November that he was prepared to run down the final 18 months of his contract at Tottenham and leave for free after not being handed a new deal.
Earlier, Jurgen Klopp and Frank Lampard ruled out any further activity before the window shut at 11pm, while Real Madrid dismissed suggestions Gareth Bale could make a big-money return to Tottenham.
Lampard also quashed speculation that Olivier Giroud was set to leave Chelsea having been linked with a shock move to London rivals Tottenham.
Lampard said: "Olivier Giroud in this window has been incredible as a professional and as a man. We know there has been interest ... will he leave? No."
Nineteen-year-old defender Tariq Lamptey left Stamford Bridge, though, to join Brighton on a three-and-a-half-year deal.
Edinson Cavani, another striker linked with United and also Chelsea, will remain at Paris Saint-Germain until at least the summer after his expected move to Atletico Madrid fell through.
Wolves completed the signing of Rochdale's 17-year-old defender Luke Matheson, with the move reported to be worth £1 million.
Matheson, who scored in his side's Carabao Cup penalty shoot-out defeat to Manchester United in September, was immediately loaned back to Rochdale for the rest of the season.
Sheffield United made their fourth and fifth signings of the window as they brought in Dutchman Richairo Zivkovic on loan from Chinese club Changchun Yatai and Greek defender Panos Retsos on loan from Bayer Leverkusen. Ravel Morrison left the club to join Middlesbrough on loan for the rest of the campaign.
Aston Villa signed striker Borja Baston on a free transfer from Championship club Swansea City.
Leicester loaned Ryan Bennett from Wolves while Crystal Palace striker Connor Wickham moved to Sheffield Wednesday.
Former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can, who left Anfield for Juventus in 2018, joined Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund on loan until the end of the season with a view to a permanent move.
Bournemouth signed winger Alex Dobre on loan from Wigan Athletic while basement club Norwich City signed Sam McCallum from Coventry City, although the 22-year-old defender will remain with the Sky Blues on loan for the remainder of the season.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
Khribin (31', 54', 89'), Al Shahrani 40'
Red card: Otayf (Al Hilal, 49')
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BIG SPENDERS
Premier League clubs spent £230 million (Dh1.15 billion) on January transfers, the second-highest total for the mid-season window, the Sports Business Group at Deloitte said in a report.