Frustrated Fabregas ready to turn his back on Arsenal

So Deadline Day has come and gone and, let's be honest, it didn't exactly set the pulse racing, though no doubt Huddersfield's Tom Denton is pleased to be going to Wakefield on loan, and Lathaniel Rowe-Turner must be looking forward to leaving Leicester for the sea air of Torquay for an undisclosed fee – perhaps free ice cream for a year.

The most eye-catching news comes from Spain where the newspaper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Cesc Fabregas has had enough of missed opportunities with Arsenal and is now ready to move to Barcelona.

The player has long been linked with a move back to the Catalan giants, the club he left as a 16-year-old to join Arsenal, but has always maintained that the would stay loyal to the Gunners. But the frustration of Arsenal's defeat to Manchester United on Sunday appears to have been too much for the 22-year-old and he is now ready to leave London.

Barcelona failed in their bid to sign him last year but president Joan Laporta has made Fabregas his top priority and the paper reports that Fabregas himself will push through the deal.

If Fabregas does ask to leave, the biggest stumbling block will be the transfer fee, the Spanish champions have a kitty of €40m euros but Arsenal want €50m.

Back in the real world there were some notable deadline day deals. The biggest of which will see Robbie Keane leave Tottenham on loan for Celtic. The 29-year-old Irishman, who's been through nearly as many clubs as Nicolas Anelka, supported the Glasgow giants as a boy and is delighted to be making the move. "I did not want to come here when I was 34 and struggling," he said. "I still feel I am in my prime and hope I can help the club."

Keane, whose previous clubs include Wolves, Coventry, Inter Milan, Leeds and Liverpool, will earn a reported £65,000 a week, as Celtic look to him to help close the ten-point gap on SPL leaders Rangers. In addition to Keane, Celtic boss Tony Mowbray has also brought strikers Morten Rasmussen (AIK Stockholm) and Fulham's Diomansy Kamara to Parkhead on loan, while agreeing to let 26-year-old Australian striker Scott McDonald joined Middlesbrough for £3.5m. McDonald's move to the Riverside means he will be reunited with Gordon Strachan, the former Celtic boss who bought the Aussie to Parkhead from Motherwell in 2007.

One player that Mowbray couldn't entice to Glasgow, however, was Real Mallorca defender Ivan Ramis. The Spanish club were said to be asking £3m for the 25-year-old, which was too much for Celtic.

As forecast on The First Post yesterday, Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson has signed for Manchester City. The 22-year-old put pen to paper in a deal that will see him wear the No.11 shirt for the sky blues. "Adam is a very good player with fantastic potential, and as a club we are always keen to sign British talent," said City manager Roberto Mancini.

Unfortunately for City, they failed in their attempt to sign Parma midfielder McDonald Mariga, the 22-year-old instead joining rival Italian club Inter Milan. The £7m deal with City fell through when the Kenyan international was refused a work permit. Though Mariga had played in 75 per cent of Kenya's matches of the past two years (one of the UK's criteria for foreign footballers), his application was rejected because Kenya are ranked 98th in Fifa's world rankings, and the UK only accepts applications from the top 70 countries.

Down in London there was a fair amount of Deadline Day activity with Fulham completing three signings in the nick of time. Nicky Shorey, the Aston Villa left-back, has arrived on loan until the summer, and so has 20-year-old Roma striker Stefano Okaka. The 17-year-old Christopher Buchtmann comes from Liverpool on an 18-month deal. Shorey is the biggest signing of the three, the 27-year-old having won two caps for England a few years ago.

Likewise, West Ham have a trio of new faces at Upton Park this morning, the best known being Benni McCarthy, the 32-year-old South African international striker. He arrives from Blackburn Rovers for an undisclosed fee and will be at West Ham until 2012. "I am very pleased and extremely happy," said McCarthy. "I am looking forward to making up for lost time and I can't wait to make my debut. All I want is to score goals."

In addition, the Hammers have signed two more strikers in 26-year-old Mido (from Middlesbrough) and Brazilian Ilan from St Etienne in the French first division. The 29-year-old Ilan arrived at Upton Park brimming with confidence, saying: "I had to sacrifice some things but this is a great club and I am sure I will do well here, hopefully."

Finally, Derby have completed the loan signings of two players who could be mistaken for a brand of shampoo - Tonge and Vidal. Stoke midfielder Michael Tonge, 28, is a veteran of over 300 appearances for Stoke and Sheffield United, while 20-year-old Javan Vidal struggled to establish himself in the Manchester City back four.