Thursday, February 1, 2018

Premier League clubs spent a January transfer deadline-day record £150m on Wednesday to take their overall outlay for the month to £430m, according to analysis by Deloitte's Sports Business Group. The most expensive move on the final day of the winter transfer window came when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund for a club record £56m. Elsewhere, Tottenham signed Lucas Moura for £23m, and Olivier Giroud and Andre Ayew made £18m moves - to Chelsea and Swansea respectively - as deadline-day spending passed the record set in 2011. Announcements continued to trickle in long after the 23:00 GMT deadline, with Eliaquim Mangala's loan move from Manchester City to Everton made public at 00:53 on Thursday. The top-flight clubs had already made this a record January transfer window, beating another record set in 2011 by £205m. Then, Chelsea completed a £50m move for Liverpool's Fernando Torres, and the Reds recruited £22.7m Ajax striker Luis Suarez and paid Newcastle £35m for Andy Carroll to take the deadline-day spend to £135m. Seven years on, three other strikers made the headlines, with Aubameyang's move reliant on Dortmund taking Chelsea forward Michy Batshuayi on loan, and the Blues replacing him with Arsenal's Giroud. Check out all the transfer deadline-day deals in one place What happens when fans get it painfully wrong in the transfer window? Pundits debate winner of 'transfer triangle' Selected deadline-day deals Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang [Borussia Dortmund - Arsenal] £56m Lucas Moura [Paris St-Germain - Tottenham] £23m Olivier Giroud [Arsenal - Chelsea] £18m Andre Ayew [West Ham - Swansea] £18m Badou Ndiaye [Galatasaray - Stoke City] £14m Jordan Hugill [Preston - West Ham] £10m The most expensive Premier League signing of the January transfer window actually went through on the opening day of the month, when Liverpool signed defender Virgil van Dijk from Southampton for £75m. Leicester's protracted move for midfielder Adrien Silva also went through on the same day, and before the week was out Everton had paid a club record £27m to sign Besiktas forward Cenk Tosun. Later in the window, the Toffees made a second £20m-plus signing in winger Theo Walcott. Alexis Sanchez swapped Arsenal for Manchester United as one of the window's most-talked-about deals went through on 22 January, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan going the other way - although Deloitte have not included any fees from this deal in their total for January. Manchester City had been heavily linked with Sanchez, but switched their attention to a move for Leicester's Riyad Mahrez, which they walked away from on deadline day, 24 hours after paying £57m to make defender Aymeric Laporte their club record signing. Top 10 Premier League transfers The 10 most expensive deals of the January transfer window According to Deloitte, the Premier League clubs' total spending for the 2017-18 season is an estimated £1.9bn. "While another record-breaking season catches the eye, Premier League clubs' expenditure continues to be well within their means in the context of revenue generated," said Dan Jones, partner in the company's Sports Business Group. "Estimated 2017-18 net spend of £755m represents just 17% of forecast 2017-18 Premier League revenue, in line with the average over the 15 years since the first transfer window in January 2003, as clubs increase investment in players in proportion to the overall growth of the football business."

Women's Big Bash League semi-final, Perth Stadium:
Perth Scorchers 148-2 (20 overs): Sciver 38*, Villani 38, Bolton 37
Sydney Thunder 121-8 (20 overs): Wilson 46; King 3-17
Perth Scorchers won by 27 runs
Scorecard
England's World Cup winners Natalie Sciver and Katherine Brunt will play in the Women's Big Bash League final after Perth Scorchers beat Sydney Thunder by 27 runs in the semi-final in Perth.
After openers Nicole Bolton and Elyse Villani added 65, Sciver hit 38 not out from 28 balls to help Perth to 148-2.
England batter Fran Wilson top-scored with 46 before being run out by Sciver as Thunder fell well short.
Sydney Sixers and Adelaide Strikers meet in Friday's second semi-final.
After Bolton and Villiani's impressive opening stand, Sciver and Heather Graham added 62 in the final 8.2 overs to post a challenging total.
With Brunt (1-24) taking the new ball, off-spinner Emma King ripped through the middle order with 3-17 as Wilson, batting at seven, lacked support.
In the second women's semi-final, England opener Tammy Beaumont is set to feature for the Strikers, whose assistant coach is ex-England captain Charlotte Edwards, against the Sixers - defending champions from 2017 - whose side includes fellow England international Amy Jones.
Later, the Scorchers will attempt to make it a Perth double when they face Hobart Hurricanes in the first men's semi-final (08:30 GMT).
You can listen to commentary on the men's and women's Big Bash semi-finals and finals on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, the BBC Sport website and app.

Natalie Sciver

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