With much of Europe competing on the field rather than in the transfer market, Saturday was a fairly quiet day of transfer dealings as Monday’s deadline looms large.
[ MORE: All of PST’s transfer rumor coverage ]
In the day’s biggest transfer news, Roma announced the signing of 27-year-old forward Seydou Doumbia from CSKA Moscow for the price of $16 million. Doumbia fills the hole in Roma’s squad left by Mattia Destro, who on Thursday completed a loan-to-permanent move to AC Milan.
Doumbia, who is currently with the Ivory Coast national team, will return to Moscow following his run at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations before joining his news teammates in Rome, he confirmed via his Instagram page on Saturday. Doumbia score 61 goals in 95 league appearances for CSKA, with another 10 goals in 15 appearances in UEFA Champions League competition.
[ MORE: All of Friday’s DONE DEAL transfer action ]
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal announced on Saturday that Darren Fletcher’s move to West Ham United has been cancelled, despite the player having a medical in London on Friday. According to van Gaal, the original deal was for a permanent transfer, but West Ham tried to pick the player up on loan at the last moment.