5 times when clubs missed out on deadline day transfers

The Premier League is often quite liberal with its transfer deadline if the clubs involved have a valid reason to delay the transfer. In fact they once allowed the transfer of a certain Shefki Kuqi from Blackburn Rovers to Crystal Palace as the documents for the transfer were sent on time but to a fish and chips store by mistake as the employee who was responsible for sending the fax typed a wrong digit. The EPL allowed the deal to happen because the documents were still sent on time.The last minute documents include the player contract, the fee involved, the payment structure and possibly additional time that would be required to complete the move. It’s not a complex process but is often complicated by last minute rushing of processes. There is a deal sheet that can also be submitted to buy an extra hour to complete the transfer in question.But, alas, there are bound to be errors, and when these deals fall apart, deals don’t go through for one reason or another. It’s even more painful for all parties involved when it happens on deadline day. But it makes for some fascinating stories.Here are 5 cases when clubs missed out on deadline day transfers.

#1 David De Gea

The most recent contender on the list and likely the most high-profile, possibly one that could turn a lot of heads in terms of rehashing the internal structures at clubs to implement faster processes.

The Spaniard seemed on the cusp of a move to Real Madrid from Manchester United all summer but the two clubs hadn’t agreed on a fee till the last minute and when they did, the Spanish deadline loomed over them like a guillotine. It was time to act fast and secure the documentation in time for the move to be completed.

While what exactly occurred isn’t clear yet, there are two versions of events out there proposed buy both clubs and either could be right. While Real Madrid say Manchester united did not complete their side of the documentation on time, and were responsible for contacting the Spanish club too late, United have responded in a strong manner.

The Premier League side have insisted that they had no reason to contact Madrid as they did not want to sell David De Gea and once they were contacted the deal was made quickly before the documentation was sent back to Real in time from their end despite some complications.

They also supposedly have the backing of the Football Association with regard to the time of submission and timestamped documents to demonstrate how their timeline progressed.

#2 Fabio Coentrao

In 2013, Manchester United were linked to primarily 3 players under the new management of David Moyes. One of them was the Real Madrid left-back Fabio Coentrao. The Red Devils already had the services of Patrice Evra and Alexander Buttner but were looking to provide some competition for Evra in his position as well as considering moving the French defender in a more advanced position while finding another player to replace him. Buttner, on the other hand, was expected to leave the club on loan.

The club’s primary target to strengthen the left-back position was Leighton Baines, when they realised that the move for the Everton man was yielding no result they made Real Madrid’s Coentrao a primary target. The two clubs agreed a deal for the Portuguese player’s transfer and even the defender was keen on a move.

It was a transfer that would not materialise as once again the curse of incomplete paperwork had struck and it did not matter that the clubs had agreed a deal and the player expected a move. The inability of the clubs to complete a simple task of submitting the paperwork in time prevented an otherwise completely legitimate move.

#3 Joao Moutinho

The Portuguese midfielder was expected to sign for Tottenham from Porto and as the clubs hustled to complete the deal on deadline day. Andre Villas-Boas who was Tottenham manager in 2012 considered Moutinho a key cog in his plans for the season as Luka Modric had departed for Real Madrid and the incoming manager felt the Portuguese midfielder would be an ideal replacement.

In that interest, Spurs submitted a deal sheet to the Premier League by 9 pm on August 31, giving them till 1 am on September 1 to complete the paperwork. However, there were more than 2 parties involved in the transfer, the 2 clubs and a third party owner of the player.

The issue was complicated by the inability to resolve the ownership problems within the time provided eventually leading to the deal hitting a dead-end despite the player and the clubs being willing parties to complete the transfer.

The player would move to Monaco at a later point along with James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao. While the other two would leave the club later on high profile permanent and loan deals, Moutinho has still stayed at the French club.

#4 Yevhen Konoplyanka

The Ukrainian winger was all set for a move to one of England’s biggest clubs, Liverpool, as early as January 2014. As it seems to be the trend with these kind of stories, all parties in question agreed to the deal and the paperwork had been filed as well. However, the Merseyside’s club’s failure to wire the money or a part of it in time to Dnipro led to their refusal to sign the papers without any collateral.

It was hesitation on their front that led to the deal going bust. In fact, the owner of Dnipro would later remark that the Reds had the opportunity to close the deal days before deadline but they let it drag on for too long leading to the eventual problem.

The Reds faced a lot of flak over their treatment of the transfer. The CEO of Liverpool Ian Ayre was in the eye of the storm after Dnipro Executive Director Andriy Rusol claimed Liverpool executives could have arrived and sealed the deal earlier but they inexplicably failed to do so in time to secure the Ukrainian attacker’s transfer to the Merseyside club.

#5 Ander Herrera

Though Ander Herrera would eventually go on to become a Manchester United player in 2014, however, their interest in the player was publicly first expressed in 2013. in fact, they even negotiated with Athletic Bilbao to buy the midfielder, but a bizarre event then turned the tide for Manchester United.

The English giants reportedly valued Herrera at £20 million, after having tracked him for nearly 2 years before they made the enquiry. The Spanish club, however, valued the player at €36 million and insisted that United meet the valuation which the, then reigning English champions were not prepared to do. But three lawyers from a law firm named Laffer showed up at Bilbao claiming that their client was ready to meet Bilbao’s asking price for the Spanish player.

While United have legal representation in Spain, it is not Laffer and their movements were not sanctioned by Manchester United. The club would later go on to offer to place this on record as a clarification that they had not agreed to pay the amount and that whatever confirmation of player acquisition would come directly from Old Trafford.

It was a saga that resulted in Manchester United missing out on Ander Herrera that summer, you could wonder what difference he would have made to the squad that season when they finished 7th in the league.