The biggest five deals of transfer deadline day

French international Giannelli Imbula was the big mover in the Premier League on deadline day as he joined Stoke from FC Porto

Monday night’s transfer deadline day was overshadowed by the announcement that Pep Guardiola will be replacing Manuel Pellegrini as Manchester City boss at the end of the season.

However there were still some big deals completed on the last day of the winter transfer window, with the teams in the middle of the top-flight the big spenders.

Here are five of the biggest deals of deadline day:

Giannelli Imbula (Porto to Stoke £18.3Million)

Stoke paid a club-record fee of £18.3million to sign the highly-rated French international midfielder from Portuguese giants Porto. Imbula is regarded as one of the best up-and-coming midfield destroyers and despite his 6ft 1in height, has been described by some in France as ‘the next Claude Makelele’.

Imbula only moved to Portugal from Marseille last summer for £15million, but struggled to adapt, with the highlight of his Marseille career coming in a 2-1 Champions League win over Chelsea. Despite his perceived struggles at Porto he is still highly-rated.

It was the second time the Potters have broken their transfer record in six months after the North West club spent £12million on Swiss star Xherdan Shaqiri in the summer.

Oumar Niasse (Lokomotiv Moscow to Everton £13.5million)

The Senegalese forward arrives at Goodison Park on the back of being crowned the Russian Player of the Year in 2015. The 25-year-old is a relative unknown to Toffees fan, but the side from Merseyside could have got themselves a gem.

Niasse has reportedly attracted the interest of the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United in the past, so his signing may be something of a coup.

The pacey forward can also play as a winger and has been brought in as an indirect replacement for Scottish international forward Steven Naismith who recently joined Norwich for £8million.

The forward has been relatively prolific for throughout his career, but his creative skills may prove to be just as important, as in 34 appearances for Lokomotiv he has produced ten assists, as well as 16 goals.

Abdoulaye Doucoure (Rennes to Watford, undisclosed fee, reported as £8million)

The French youngster has joined from Ligue One Rennes for a reported fee of around £8million and was immediately loaned out to La Liga side Granada for the rest of the campaign. The 23 year-old has signed a four-and-half-year deal with the Hornets and will join-up with his new teammates in the summer.

The former-French under-21 international has reportedly attracted the interest of Tottenham and Liverpool, but the Hornets moved quickly to secure the midfielders signature. Watford had initially agreed a fee for Doucoure in the summer, but the player was reportedly not keen on a move, as his partner was pregnant at the time.

Jordan Rhodes (Blackburn to Middlesbrough £9million initial payment potentially rising to £11million)

The Scotland international has been prolific in the lower leagues for virtually every club he has represented. The 25-year-old has scored 85 goals in 171 appearances in the Championship for Huddersfield and Blackburn, so he knows exactly how to find the net in the second tier.

BBC Sport have reported the fee as £9million, which is a big fee for a Championship club to pay for a player, but it shows Boro’s ambition to win promotion. The striker had previously been linked with moves to the Premier League.

However, no club wanted to take the gamble on the striker, who had only scored goals in the lower leagues. With Middlesbrough well placed for promotion he could just get his chance to impress in the top-flight next season.

Seydou Doumbia (Roma to Newcastle on-loan)

It may not have been one of the biggest deals when it comes to finances, but it could be a vital deal at the bottom of the Premier League table. Newcastle have struggled to score goals this season and the Ivory Coast star may well be the answer to the Magpies scoring problems.

Much will depend on how quickly the 28-year-old settles in the Premier League, as to whether he scores the goals to guide the Magpies to safety. Doumbia proved he knew where the goal was during his time in the Russian top-flight with CSKA Moscow.

The Premier League is without doubt a step-up in quality, but if he can help secure Newcastle’s Premier League status then he could prove be an inspired signing by Steve McClaren.

Who will prove to be the most successful deadline day signing?