While his new teammates were busy beating champions Leicester, Robbie Brady finally completed his much anticipated move to Burnley.
Having broken their transfer record in the summer to sign his fellow Republic of Ireland international Jeff Hendrick, Burnley did it again to recruit Brady with the club stumping up around €15 million to land the Dubliner who joins on a 3½-year contract.
Manager Sean Dyche will now hope to coax something like the form Brady has produced for Ireland over the last year or so, something Norwich rarely managed to do.
The 25-year-old will, in turn, hope that the club can provide him with a platform to finally cement his Premier League status after relegations with both Hull City and Norwich.
The move looks to be a good one for both parties with Dyche the sort of manager who is likely to give the player licence to play the creative, attacking football at which Brady has shown he can excel.
The Ireland international certainly has the potential to help generate goals, something that Burnley have struggled to do, especially on the road where their form remains a major concern.
However, after Tuesday’s 1-0 home win over Leicester, which featured Hendrick and fellow Ireland international Stephen Ward, they are now in ninth place.
Marc Wilson travelled to West Brom and was expected to complete a loan move from Bournemouth where he has failed to make any impression since singing in the summer.
The move would mean a second stint playing under Tony Pulis for the Irish defender who was previously signed by the manager for Stoke City.
Elsewhere, forward Conor Sammon returned on loan to Kilmarnock, the club where a spectacular first half to the 2010/11 season propelled him to the Premier League.
Since that move to Wigan the now 30-year-old has had a prolonged spell at Derby and loan periods at Ipswich, Rotherham and Sheffield United before joining Hearts last summer.
Fellow striker Eoin Doyle has dropped down two divisions to Portsmouth to be reunited with his former Sligo Rovers and Chesterfield boss Paul Cook, having joined the League Two club on loan from Championship Preston North End.
“I am delighted with this signing,” said the manager. “He knows what I want and I know that I can rely on him to give 100 per cent on the pitch. Eoin brings commitment and quality to our side and I’m sure he’ll be popular with all our supporters.”
Doyle (28) had featured just twice for Preston, whose manager Simon Grayson had expressed an interest in signing Robbie Keane, since being sent off at Sheffield Wednesday for fighting with teammate Jermaine Beckford.
Former Watford and under-21 Ireland international Sean Murray, meanwhile, has signed for Colchester United on an 18-month contract. The 23-year-old had been previously released by Swindon in order to facilitate the deal.
