Konchesky, Gyan and Hleb head deadline day moves

Liverpool signed defender Paul Konchesky from Fulham, while Sunderland smashed their transfer record to land Asamoah Gyan and Birmingham made a surprise swoop for Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb on the final day of the transfer window.

Reds boss Roy Hodgson had been keen to land left-back Konchesky from his former club since taking over at Anfield in the close-season and he finally got his man on a four-year contract once Finnish striker Lauri Dalla Valle and Swedish winger Alex Kacaniklic agreed their moves in the opposite direction.

That deal, Sunderland’s signing of Rennes star Gyan and Birmingham’s loan move for Hleb took centre-stage as Premier League clubs tried to beat the 1800BST (1700GMT) deadline for registering new signings.

Hleb’s capture represents something of a coup for Birmingham boss Alex McLeish as the former Arsenal player made a good impression on his last spell in the Premier League.

McLeish said: “Hleb is a top quality player. Over the past year or so we have talked about him but with no real belief we could get him.

“We decided to give it a try and towards the end of the window we found out it might be possible.”

A busy day for McLeish also included signing Czech Republic defender Martin Jiranek from Spartak Moscow for an undisclosed fee and Chile winger Jean Beausejour on a three-year contract from Club America in Mexico.

Ghana striker Gyan completed his move to Sunderland for a fee of over 13 million pounds (15.7 million euros).

Gyan, 24, agreed a four-year contract with Steve Bruce’s side in a deal which shatters the club’s previous record when they signed Darren Bent from Tottenham for 10 million pounds (12 million euros) in 2009.

Brazil forward Robinho ended his dismal spell at Manchester City by making a permanent move to AC Milan for a fee believed to be around 15million euros – a huge loss on the club record transfer fee of almost 42million euros paid for him two years ago from Real Madrid.

Liverpool left-back Emiliano Insua joined Galatasaray on a season’s loan, Armand Traore switched from Arsenal to Juventus for the same period and Everton’s Joseph Yobo was allowed to join Fenerbahce on loan.

Tottenham, who reportedly hope to complete a late move for Real Madrid’s Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, signed Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa on a season-long loan from Spartak Moscow as cover for injured first-choice Heurelho Gomes.

Manchester United’s England Under-21 midfielder Tom Cleverley joined Wigan on a season-long loan and the Latics also signed Franco Di Santo for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract from Chelsea.

Argentine striker Di Santo, 21, was unable to make the breakthrough at Chelsea after joining in 2008 and spent last season on loan at Blackburn, where he scored just one league goal.

Wolves bolstered their attacking options by signing veteran striker Marcus Bent, 32, on a four-month loan deal from local rivals Birmingham.

Bolton signed Benfica forward Rodrigo Moreno on a season-long loan, subject to the player receiving international clearance.

The Brazil-born Spain Under-19 international only joined the Portuguese club last month on a five-year deal from Real Madrid.

Blackpool signed DJ Campbell from Leicester on a permanent basis after the striker’s successful loan spell at Bloomfield Road last season.

Seasiders boss Ian Holloway also signed highly-rated young Wycombe winger Matt Phillips from the League Two club for an initial fee of 325,000 pounds (392,000 euros).

Stoke re-signed Senegal midfielder Salif Diao, 33, on a two-year contract and were also said to be trying to tie up deals for Monaco forward Eidur Gudjohnsen, Real Zaragoza winger Jermaine Pennant and Portsmouth midfielder Marc Wilson.

West Brom signed defender Craig Dawson for an undisclosed fee from Rochdale and then loaned the 20-year-old back to the League One club.

Overall spending by Premier League clubs since the end of last season amounted to around 350 million pounds (423 million euros), a 22 percent drop from last year as owners begin to tighten their belts during the current financial downturn.