The January transfer window slammed shut across Europe on Thursday as a month of trading among the continent's top clubs came to a close.

While in Italy and Spain activity was modest, the scramble to freshen up strike forces and shore up leaky defences in England's Premier League and Germany's Bundesliga produced some hectic dealing.

ENGLAND

English clubs smashed the January transfer record with nine days of the month remaining when the total expenditure already stood at 93 million pounds, although only Chelsea of the title chasers were splashing the cash.

They snapped up Nicolas Anelka early in the month from Bolton Wanderers for a tidy 15 million pounds, the biggest fee of the window, while Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic also joined from Lokomotiv Moscow.

Arsenal resisted any temptation to bolster their title push and even allowed unsettled midfielder Lassana Diarra to join Portsmouth. Champions United kept their powder dry.

Liverpool captured defender Martin Skrtel from Zenit St Petersburg for an undisclosed fee.

Tottenham Hotspur splashed out around 20 million pounds to revamp their defence with the signings of Brazilian left back Gilberto, right back Alan Hutton from Rangers and England central defender Jonathan Woodgate from Middlesbrough.

Struggling sides were particularly busy, with numerous comings and goings. Notable deals included Birmingham City's signing of Everton midfielder James McFadden, Fulham's move for Finnish great Jari Litmanen and Werder Bremen's Leon Andreasen and Sunderland's capture of Ireland international Andy Reid.

Middlesbrough broke their transfer record to sign Brazilian striker Afonso Alves from Dutch side Heerenveen for an undisclosed fee.

Photographs: Getty Images | Text: Reuters

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