When a 38-year-old Peter Crouch moving to Burnley is your biggest story, you should perhaps begin to realise that ‘Transfer Deadline Day’ doesn’t actually exist to provide 24 hours of rolling entertainment for a television audience.
It’s simply the final day of a seasonal window in which football clubs around the world are permitted to sign and register new players – some bloody weird ones, n’all.
As far as January 2019 is concerned, here’s a few of the odder moves you might have glossed over amid the vapidity of it all…
Yannick Bolasie to Anderlecht
After failing to impress at Aston Villa, Everton have chosen to farm Bolasie out a little further afield for the remainder of the season.
Apparently the transfer was only approved by the Belgian FA with roughly 30 seconds of the window left.
Volg straks om 13u30 via onze Facebook Live de persconferentie van coach Fred Rutten en Yannick Bolasie!
Suivez dès 13h30 la conférence de presse du coach Fred Rutten et Yannick Bolasie via notre Facebook Live!
🎙️ #RSCA #COYM #WelcomeBolasie pic.twitter.com/BsueMTKke3
— RSC Anderlecht (@rscanderlecht) 1 February 2019
Sandro to Udinese
Udinese spent the majority of deadline day in negotiations with Derby County veteran Tom Huddlestone only for the deal to ultimately collapse.
However, the Serie A side did manage to procure themselves a former Premier League midfielder before the end of the day by bringing in ex-Tottenham nutter Sandro from Genoa on a short-term deal.
Benvenuto Sandro ⚪⚫
✍🏽 📝 Leggi il comunicato ufficiale
👉🏽 https://t.co/rAw7tJUTR5 pic.twitter.com/cwZAGBEKpg— Udinese Calcio (@Udinese_1896) 31 January 2019
Alen Halilovic to Standard Liege
The boy who was supposed to be king is now at his fifth club since making his big jump from Dinamo Zagreb to Barcelona five seasons ago…
#WelcomeAlen 🇭🇷 pic.twitter.com/aDSv9H7AZo
— Standard de Liège (@Standard_RSCL) 31 January 2019
Lucas Piazon to Chievo Verona
Undisputed four-star general of Chelsea’s loan army, Piazon’s January switch to Chievo will preserve his impeccable record of spending every single season since his arrival at Stamford Bridge in 2012 ‘elsewhere’…
‼️✍️ Ufficiale: @LucasPiazon è un giocatore dell’@ACChievoVerona! Arriva con la formula del prestito con diritto di riscatto dal @ChelseaFC.
🇧🇷 #BemvindoLucas! pic.twitter.com/lRfXtLfMi8
— A.C. ChievoVerona (@ACChievoVerona) 31 January 2019
Erik Pieters to Amiens SC
Most Stoke fans were hoping for defensive reinforcements or two this window as they are notably short at the back.
Instead, the club loaned their senior left-back to a team fighting relegation from Ligue 1.
Erik Pieters est amiénois !
Le défenseur international hollandais est prêté à l’@AmiensSC par @stokecity jusqu’à la fin de la saison.Bienvenue Erik ! pic.twitter.com/EHbQxgIUn0
— Amiens SC (@AmiensSC) 31 January 2019
Wilfried Bony to Al-Hilal
Off to Qatar. Safe to say, the grand return to Swansea has not gone to plan…
#العربي يتعاقد مع بوني
التفاصيل:👇🏻https://t.co/UmGRJuurEQ pic.twitter.com/9pEbSYf4iQ— Al-Arabi Sports Club (@alarabi_club) January 31, 2019
Jerome Sinclair to Oxford United
From Liverpool wonderkid, to Watford also-ran, to League One in the space of three seasons.
#OUFC have completed the #DeadlineDay loan signing of @WatfordFC Striker Jerome Sinclairhttps://t.co/YYTYEQA8Uk
— Oxford United FC (@OUFCOfficial) 31 January 2019
Aboubakar Kamara to Yeni Malatyspor
Suspended by Fulham for brawling with one of their security guards, Kamara has been removed to one of Turkey’s lesser -Spors.
Nobody looks remotely happy about it…
Done deal ✅
Fulham’s Aboubakar Kamara has joined Yeni Malatyaspor on loan.#DeadlineDay latest https://t.co/Z5Y1qosP7w #bbcfootball pic.twitter.com/efvQ8m4FeO
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) 31 January 2019
Weird old deadline day, that.