5 Most successful Premier League transfer deadline day deals
It’s that time of the year again – Transfer Deadline day. The last day for clubs to make new additions to their teams in the Premier League, be it a striker to score goals up front, or a playmaker to rack up the assists or even a strong leader at the back – it’s the one day in the year that clubs dread and agents dream of. Big money moves are now part and parcel of transfer deadline day with hundreds of millions being spent on transfer fees.Sadly, all this last minute spending doesn’t always guarantee a return. It’s happened innumerable times before – a player joins a new club for a record fee, doesn’t really fit the team’s style of play and is shipped out as soon as possible albeit at a massive loss. Case in point – Radamel Falcao when he signed for Manchester United last transfer deadline day.However, just sometimes, clubs get it right. They manage to strike gold. They manage to acquire a player who provides more than what they were originally looking for. These are a few of those magical last minute buys that managed to become massive success stories at the Premier League clubs they signed for.
#5 Claude Makelele
Sure, some players may score hundreds of goals while others may crank out perfectly timed tackles daily, but how many players can boast of having a position named after themselves?
Claude Makelele arrived at Chelsea from Real Madrid in 2003 for £16.8 million. However, it was only when a certain Portuguese manager by the name of Jose Mourinho arrived from Porto the next season that Makelele found his feet. Deployed in a much deeper role right in front of the defence, Makelele thrived at the back and played an integral role in Chelsea’s back-to-back Premier League title winning seasons.
In his role of defensive midfielder, Makelele managed to free up space for Chelsea’s slew of attacking talent consisting of Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Damien Duff and Eidur Gudjohnson to play as freely as possible. What resulted was a team that managed to score 72 goals while conceding a measly 15 – a record that still stands today.
He went on to win 6 trophies in his 5 years at Chelsea, firmly establishing himself as a fan favorite. During his stint at Chelsea he was also nominated into the FifPro Team of the Season of 2005. Such was the impact created by the Frenchman that he redefined the role of a defensive midfielder and the role then became known as “the Makelele role”.