Deadline Day Review

Well, deadline day was a lot more hectic than we all had envisaged.

Before the clock struck 11pm and the transfer window was gently closed (it wasn't slammed shut as Sky Sports would have you believe), a trio of players had left for pastures new and two new faces had been brought in for the season. Our strikeforce has thinned further after the departures of Jermaine Beckford and Yakubu to Leicester City and Blackburn Rovers respectively, whilst play-maker in chief Mikel Arteta has taken up the opportunity of Champions League football at Arsenal.

Over £15m was raised through those three sales but none of the money was reinvested as both new recruits - Argentine striker Denis Stracqualursi and Dutch winger Royston Drenthe - have joined on loan deals.

INS

Denis Stracqualursi

Argentine forward Stracqualursi has joined on a season-long loan deal from Tigres in his homeland. I, like most, had never heard of him before, so I am only really going by what I can find on his Wikipedia page - which yesterday read: "In August 2011 Stracqualursi became a mongrel by signing for the stupidly rich Premier League team Everton, owned by Sheik Kenwright."

Which proves the reliability of Wikipedia. Anyway, from what I can gather, he's 23-years-old, 6ft 3 and finished top of the Argentinian goalscoring charts last year after netting 22 times in 35 appearances. Previous top scorers in the Argentinian Primera División include a host of players who have enjoyed successful careers in Europe; Javier Saviola, Mauro Zárate, Fernando Cavenaghi and Lisandro López, and so David Moyes will be hoping that Denis can prove a menace to Premier League defences.

When we were struggling in the mid-nineties we brought in a 6ft 3 centre-forward on loan. And that one didn't turn out too bad...

Royston Drenthe

Our second loan signing was Real Madrid's 24-year-old Dutch winger, Royston Drenthe. Middle name Ricky, of course. Drenthe, who can operate in midfield as well as in defence, was signed by Real Madrid in 2007 for 14 million Euros. He featured regularly at first, but gradually fell out of favour at the Bernabéu before spending last season on loan helping Hércules get relegated.

The wideman arrives on Merseyside with a bit of an off-the-pitch reputation as a loose cannon, just like another Dutchman well known to Evertonians, 'Shandy' van der Meyde. On the pitch he will add some much needed pace to the side - you would be hard pushed to find a faster player in the league.

Drenthe is a free agent at the end of the season and so, if everything goes well, we might be able to extend his stay at Goodison.

OUTS

Shane Duffy

Teenage centre-half Shane Duffy has joined Scunthorpe United on an initial month-long loan deal. The 19-year-old has European experience having played for Everton against AEK Athens and BATE Borisov, and will now look to force his way into the first team setup by getting regular games for League One side Scunthorpe.

Yakubu

'The Yak' will be put on a new diet of Venky's chicken following his transfer to Blackburn Rovers. The fee differs according to which report you read but it is believed to be around £1.5-2m. A snip of the once club record transfer fee of £11.25m that we paid for his services, but after not featuring for a while it was best to get that than nothing.

It also means that he is off the wage bill, something that is critical for Everton if we are to bring in any players in January. There has been no word on his fellow Nigerian Joseph Yobo, whose transfer to Fenerbahce has been put on hold all Summer.

Jermaine Beckford

£4m profit in just over a year and 10 goals to boot sounds like very good business. It does, however, leave us criminally short up front, with only Vellios (young), Stracqualursi (untried), Anichebe (useless) and Saha (perma-crocked) to choose from.

Beckford jumped two leagues to sign for Everton and, taking that into consideration, ten goals for the season was a very decent effort. They were memorable too - the last-gasp equaliser at Stamford Bridge, the goal at Anfield and who could forget the Roy of the Rovers effort on the final day?

Ever since his touchline spat with David Moyes last season in the 0-3 win at Wolves last season there has been a sense that he was not in the manager's good books. And so the lesson to be learnt is never mess with a Glaswegian... or you might end up with Sven.

Mikel Arteta

It was on. It was off. It was on again.

That was the story of Mikel Arteta's deadline day move to Arsenal. After 6 1/2 years of plying his trade at Everton, I don't begrudge him the move to a side that will contest in the Champions League season on season. It's not a question of money as most outlets are reporting he took a pay cut to become a Gunner (goner) and so after so long of having had the pleasure of watching him I wish him all the best in London.

I was - to coin Harry Redknapp - 'gutted' to see Mikel leave but the timing of it frustrated me more than anything. With so little time to find a replacement, the only place the £10m is going is to the bank. Apart from the 85p in every pound that goes to Finch Farm, of course...

Thanks for the memories Mikel - it's been a pleasure. You leave with my best wishes and you leave behind some great memories - the wondergoal against Fiorentina, the derby winner, the equaliser against United, the unstoppable free-kick against Hull. The best little Spaniard I knew.

Whilst I'm sad to see the back of Arteta, it is a part of football. Players will come and go and break fans' hearts. But Everton are forever. It feels very much like the end of an era. But that only means that another is about to begin. Marouane, Jack, Ross, Denis, Royston... over to you.