The transfer window enters its last week

By Jemma Tappenden
January 29 2007

As the January transfer window enters its final week, we weigh up the hits, the misses and the possible hive of activity for the next seven days.

So January has turned out to be a bit of a strange month. It always is a weird one. The anti-climax of Christmas and New Year, followed immediately by the anti-climax of the transfer window. Oh – and somehow the cold frosty weather doesn’t look the same after the Christmas deccies have come down.
Ah – and there’s also that unexpected derby FA Cup game on it way this weekend.

I have to say, I’m reasonably impressed with the activity at Wolves during this transfer window. Securing the services of McIndoe and Kightly has been a good move, and hopefully Keogh will prove to add that extra fire power so desperately needed up front. I can’t say the exit of Leon Clarke to Sheffield Wednesday upset me too much either. So all in all some positive outcomes I hope.

I’m not sure the same can be said for the Baggies – yet. There are just 7 days of the transfer window left, and so far it appears to have passed with little significance. The good news for Baggies fans is that so far the squad hasn’t been pillaged as badly as some fans feared. Despite rumours Ellington, Gera and Davies remain West Brom players. But activity has also been limited in the other direction. Mowbray has as yet not secured the signing of several noted targets.

I’m sure Baggies fans will look back to this time last year – when several key areas were failed to be addressed during the transfer window. Ultimately the inability to score goals led to the demise of the possibility of Premiership survival. And the 11th hour sales of Earnshaw and Horsefield left the Baggies with no chance of finding replacements.

It is maybe with slight anxiety then that West Brom fans will approach the last week of the transfer window. Mowbray has already failed this week to secure the loan signing of Lokomotiv Moscow striker Garry O’Connor, but has been reported to have stepped up interest in Hibs pair Scott Brown and Kevin Thomson. Its is likely that the last week will be a hive of activity, and with questions still hanging over the futures of Ellington, Gera and Davies, fans will be hoping that the activity is inbound, not outbound.

Jemma.