31st August 2004: Transfer deadline
day brought two further signings to the Hawthorns bringing the total
since the end of last season to ten.
As mooted yesterday in the Japanese press, Junichi Inamoto joined
the Baggies for a fee of £200,000. Inamoto is currently recovering
from a hairline fracture suffered in Japan's match against England
earlier in the summer, and Albion have the option to cancel the transfer
without a fee being paid should Inamoto not play a senior match before
1st January 2005. He is unlikely to be fully fit before October, and
will then have to regain match fitness, so it will be several weeks
before he will be considered for a first team appearance.
This is a good piece of business from Mr Peace, particularly given
that Fulham were quoted a fee of £2.5 million when they tried to sign
the player permanently just a month ago - BBC
Link. Inamoto had been on loan at Fulham for three seasons playing
58 times and scoring 9 goals. Fulham were obviously keen to keep the
24-year-old midfielder who has clocked up a half-century of appearances
for Japan, but were unwilling to take a risk on an injured player
- the Cottagers' loss has proved to be the Baggies' gain.
The second signing came out of the blue this afternoon. Romanian international
right-back, Cosmin Contra, has joined on a season long loan from Atletico
Madrid. The Spanish side paid £5 million for Contra when he joined
from AC Milan two years ago. Unfortunately, having been a regular
first team player in 2002-3, Contra was injured in pre-season last
summer and ended up having surgery in October 2003. He has since struggled
to regain his place in the Atletico Madrid first team.
His pedigree is good, however. He scored 8 goals in 99 appearances
for Dinamo Bucharest over four seasons before moving to Alaves in
1999. He was a member of the team that lost the UEFA Cup Final to
Liverpool in 2001 and got his big move to AC Milan that summer. He
played 29 times for the Italian giants in 2001-2 before moving back
to La Liga. He has also clocked up 43 appearances and 5 goals for
his country, helping to knock England out of Euro 2000.
He is obviously a player of vast experience in two of the biggest
leagues in Europe and is looking to re-ignite his career. Obviously,
there is a question mark over his form and fitness since his injury,
but with Albion only paying a fee each time he plays, it looks like
another good piece of business from Mr Peace.
So, it can be deemed a successful couple of days in the transfer market.
Inamoto may not be available for a while, but the midfield should
be shored up by Scimeca now that Contra is likely to take the right-back
slot. And with Koumas back in the next game, the line-up at Anfield
could well have only three or four players from last season - Hoult,
Koumas, Robinson or Clement, and Tommy if fit. How times change....
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