On This Day – 31st January
31st January is the day that Sky Sports News goes into meltdown as a few transfers take place.
Presenter Jim White is wheeled out in front of the camers and excitedly tells fans news of transfers that can already be seen on scrolling information bars across the screen.
While Jim sits in a warm and bright television studio, various reporters up and down the country loiter around outside numerous football stadiums and training grounds the country, ready to give snippets of information about a last-minute transfer deal.
Since the January transfer window came into effect in 2002/03 season, there have been many memorable transfers. Today’s article looks back on one transfer that didn’t go through.
January 2013 saw a deal looking all-but-sealed with QPR’s Junior Hoilett moving up to West Bromwich Albion as Peter Odemwingie would go the other way as part of the deal.
Odemwingie drove down from West Bromwich to sign the deal and sort out the formalities of the deal, but when he left the Midlands to go to the capital, he claims that he didn’t know that Junior Hoilett was to be going the opposite direction.
As the two clubs had made the deal and Odemwingie arrived at Loftus Road, only to find that he was refused entry into the stadium!
Both clubs maintained that a deal had not been agreed. As it turns out, Junior Hoilett hadn’t wanted to leave QPR at all and the deal was off.
Odemwingie was left with egg on his face after being left outside in his car for four hours! He will forever be remembered for the transfer deal that never happened back in 2013!
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