West Ham made their third defensive signing of the transfer window when Matthew Upson joined from Birmingham City. The Blues did not want to part with their much coveted jewel at the heart of the defence, but they felt that they were forced into playing their hand.

Upson had made it clear to the Birmingham board that he felt his future lay elsewhere, and that he had no intention of signing a new deal at St. Andrews. Which left the Blues with no other option than to cash in and make as much as they could. They refused a number of offers holding out for six million down payment with other performance based increments.

Upson’s former club Arsenal will receive 25% as they had a sell on clause in the deal that saw him move to Birmingham four years ago.

Arsenal midfielder Alexandre Song, nephew of Cameroon international Rigobert Song has joined the addicks until the end of the season. Alan Pardew is trying to add to his squad to ensure they have the troops required for the relegation battle ahead.

He has been limited to just cup and substitute appearances for Arsenal this season as there are a number of other midfielders ahead of him in the Arsenal squad and Arsene Wenger is eager for him to get more first team football.

Tony Mowbray has signed former Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Dean Kiely from Pompey. The stopper had moved from Charlton to Portsmouth to further his career but Harry Redknapp brought in David James from Manchester City and Keily was relegated to the bench.

Having been on loan at Luton Town for the last two months, Kiely moves to another Championship side. West Brom need cover in the goal keeping department following the suspension of Russell Hoult.

Thomson becomes the third signing for Rangers since Walter Smith took over, after deals were agreed with Ehiogu and Weir. After strengthening his defence Smith has moved on to the midfield.

It was thought that Celtic would sign Thomson but they proved unsuccessful in the bid. He also had offers of a move to the Championship to join former boss Tony Mowbray at West Bromwich Albion.

Glen Roeder has bolstered his injury-ravaged defence by adding American World Cup star known as Gooch. Onyewu will be looking to impress during his spell at the Toon in the hope of securing a permanent deal in summer.

Having put in a solid display at last year’s World Cup in Germany he attracted admirers from all over Europe; Chelsea and Real Madrid to name a few. He almost moved to the Magpies nearest premiership rivals Middlesbrough in the summer but the deal fell through. Fulham manager Chris Coleman had also expressed an interest and with the US contingent at the club the move looked to be a done deal but it never came to fruition.

Brazilian striker Ronaldo has finally agreed a move away from the Bernabeu following his acrimonious bust up with manager Fabio Capello. Discussions between the two parties had broken down last week after they had disagreed about the players valuation.

The thirty year old has been world player of the year on three occasions is looking forward to the challenge of playing in shirt of the Rossoneri. He will need to help fill the shoes of Shevchenko who left for Stamford Bridge in the summer if he is to win over the Milan fans, after being the hero of local rivals Inter.

Edgar Davids has moved back to Ajax after more than ten years of exile, having spent five years at the club. Winning three Eredivisie championships, the UEFA Cup and a Champions League.

Davids was an integral part of the Tottenham side that finished fifth in the premiership last season, but he has only played nine times this season. His eighteen month deal takes his wages off the North London sides wage bill. Possibly allowing Spurs to invest on deadline day.

The draw for the fifth round of the FA Cup takes Blackpool or Norwich to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea, there is an all Championship tie between Plymouth and Derby ensuring a lower league team will be in the quarter finals. There is a London derby where Fulham play Spurs at craven cottage.

Bristol City or Middlesbrough will host West Bromwich Albion, while Arsenal or Bolton face another tough tie after their replay when they will be at home to Blackburn Rovers.

 The complete draw is below: 

Chelsea v Blackpool or Norwich
Watford v Ipswich Town
Preston v Manchester City
Plymouth v Derby County
Manchester United v Reading
Arsenal or Bolton v Blackburn
Middlesbrough or Bristol City v West Brom
Fulham v Tottenham

Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce has been in discussions with the FA as they would like him to be the new England U-21 coach. The vacancy came about when Crystal Palace manager Peter Taylor decided that he could no longer juggle both positions.

Pearce is delighted to have been selected and has accepted the position. Pearce who has 78 England caps hopes that his current employers can reach an agreement with the FA in time for him to take over for the friendly against Spain.

Pearce sees a number of benefits of his new role for Manchester City as he would have first hand experience of Europe’s top young talent.

Following the departure of Walter Smith and Ally McCoist from the Scotland set up to join Glasgow Rangers. The Scottish Football Association have been considering their options before making their next bold move.

After the failure of Berti Vogts, very few feel that they would appoint a non-national as manager, especially as there is a wealth of Scottish managerial talent available to step in to the breach. Candidates like Graeme Souness, Gary McAllister and Craig Brown. However the favourite to be appointed is former Rangers supreme Alex McLeish. Big Eck had done a good job for Rangers and has support from new Rangers Assistant Manager Ally McCoist  who sang his praises in a recent Sky Sports interview. There is a press conference due on Monday and everyone is expecting McLeish to be unveiled.