ASTON VILLA will have to wait until today to formally complete the signing of Manchester City captain Richard Dunne on a four-year contract in a €6.8 million deal.
The Premier League have asked for more time to ratify the deal even though Villa began submitting the relevant documents before 4pm yesterday – an hour before the transfer window formally closed.
Villa remain confident Dunne will become their player after a nine-season spell at City. The Republic of Ireland international has passed a medical and agreed personal terms.
The Football Association are satisfied with the paperwork presented by Villa, but the club needs the formal approval of the Premier League before they can announce Dunne’s arrival.
Villa had earlier signed West Ham defender James Collins for around €5.6 million.
Dunne’s days at Eastlands appeared to be numbered after the arrival of Kolo Toure from Arsenal and then Joleon Lescott from Everton.
But his arrival at Villa Park will provide Martin O’Neill with the experienced centre-back he has been looking for since the retirement of Martin Laursen at the end of last season with a knee injury.
Villa agreed a fee last week with City for Dunne but the deal dragged on past the weekend because the player wanted to sort out financial issues relating to the remaining three years of his contract.
Dunne would have been entitled to a testimonial next summer when he would have completed a decade of service at City.
Now the 29-year-old looks set to make his Villa debut in the derby with Birmingham at St Andrews on September 13th.
It is the sort of battle Dunne will relish.
He joined Everton as a schoolboy and was handed his debut as a 16-year-old by Joe Royle in 1995.
Dunne made a €3.4million switch to City in 2000, was made club captain in succession to Sylvain Distin in 2006 and was voted the club’s player of the year for four seasons running from 2004-2005 to 2007-2008.
Dunne signed a new four-year deal with City last summer, but it became apparent with the signing of Toure and Lescott that he would struggle to retain a first team spot.
Dunne’s fellow Republic of Ireland central defender Darren O’Dea has joined Reading on a three-month loan from Celtic.
Elsewhere Everton finalised the strengthening of their defence with the signing of Atletico Madrid’s Johnny Heitinga for €6.8 million just minutes before the transfer window closed. The Netherlands international, whose fee could eventually rise to €8 million, has signed a five-year deal.
The Premier League’s traditional “Big Four” of Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal were typically quiet on deadline day with none confirming deals by the close of the window.
There was plenty of business to be done elsewhere, however, with comings and goings at Portsmouth.
In a very late deal Tottenham confirmed they had reached an agreement with them for the transfer of Croatian Nico Kranjcar after the midfielder successfully completed a medical.
There were more entrances than exits at Fratton Park, though, as the club signed Tal Ben-Haim from Manchester City on a four-year deal, and midfielder Hassan Yebda on a season-long loan from Benfica.
YESTERDAY’S LEADING TRANSFERS
Richard Dunne €6.8m (Man City to Aston Villa)
Johnny Heitinga (Atletico Madrid to Everton, €6.8m)
James Collins (West Ham to Aston Villa,€5.6m)
Danny Collins (Sunderland to Stoke, €3.1m)
Grant Leadbitter (Sunderland to Ipswich, up to €3m)
Carlos Edwards (Sunderland to Ipswich, up to €1.5million)
Niko Kranjcar (Portsmouth to Tottenham, undisclosed)
Tal Ben-Haim (Manchester City to Portsmouth, undisclosed)
Mike Williamson (Watford to Portsmouth, undisclosed)
Darren O’Dea (Celtic to Reading, three-month loan)
Hassan Yebda (Benfica to Portsmouth, loan)
Sam Cox (Tottenham to Cheltenham, loan)
Clayton McDonald (Manchester City to Walsall, loan)
Ivan Klasnic (Nantes to Bolton, season-long loan)
Ibrahima Sonko (Stoke to Hull, season-long loan)
Teemu Tainio (Sunderland to Birmingham, loan)
David Nugent (Portsmouth to Burnley) six-month loan
