Liverpool get Konchesky, Birmingham land Hleb

Liverpool signed defender Paul Konchesky from Fulham for an undisclosed fee, while 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 and Birmingham’s loan move for Hleb took centre-stage as Premier League clubs try 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 admitted he initially didn’t believe he would be able to sign Belarus winger Hleb.

McLeish, who also landed Czech Republic defender Martin Jiranek from Spartak Moscow for an undisclosed fee, 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.”

The final hours of the transfer window traditionally spark a frenzy of wheeling and dealing by Premier League managers, but there was little big spending for much of Tuesday.

With less than three hours to go until the window shuts, total spending on transfers by English top-flight clubs since the end of last season is expected to total around 330 million pounds (508 million dollars).

The figure is down 25 percent on last year and the lowest sum since 2006, when the 263 million pounds (405 million dollars) was spent.

Tottenham signed Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa on a season-long loan from Spartak Moscow and were also linked with a late bid for Liverpool’s Dutch winger Ryan Babel.

Pletikosa, 31, joins the Premier League club as cover for first-choice Heurelho Gomes, who suffered a groin injury during his team’s Champions League play-off win over Young Boys last week.

Manchester United’s England Under-21 midfielder Tom Cleverley joined Wigan on a season-long loan.

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 highly-rated young Wycombe winger Matt Phillips from the League Two club for an initial fee of 325,000 pounds (499,000 dollars).

The 19-year-old impressed for England’s Under-19s in the recent European finals and has joined Ian Holloway’s promoted side in a deal that could eventually cost the Seasiders close to 700,000 pounds (one million dollars).

“Matty has been on our radar for some time,” Holloway said. “He did well in the European Under-19 tournament for England and has played almost 80 league games for Wycombe. I can’t wait for him to get involved in our system.”

Stoke re-signed Senegal midfielder Salif Diao, 33, on a two-year contract after releasing the former Liverpool star at the end of last season.

Sunderland hope to splash out 12 million pounds (18.4 million dollars) on Rennes’ Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan.