Rumour Mill - transfer deadline looms

Well, Harry has been saying for the best part of a month that he’s looking for two or three quality additions, but has admitted his frustration in the transfer market and has said that if he can’t improve on what he has he won’t bother.

He has seen moves for the likes of Morrison, Livermore, Kamara and, who knows, even Michael Owen break down in recent weeks, and has been restricted to free signings Wise, Powell, Belmadi and Hajto, not forgetting a whopping £90k on Ricardo Fuller, all this while watching some 15 players exit bringing in around £9m to swell to coffers and offset the financial pain of relegation.

Last week’s reserve match against Eastleigh featured no less than six trialists of whom we’ve heard little since. So what has the legendary wheeler dealer got up his sleeve?

Marcelo Tejera
Saints have revealed that they are interested in Penarol creative midfielder Tejera, who is on trial at St. Mary’s. Who, you may well ask and where on earth is Penarol (Uruguay, since you ask)? Not the kind of big name fans would have been hoping for, particularly when you consider he is 32.

He comes with the recommendation of Gus Poyet, who seems to have been doing a bit of scouting for us in his spare time. Despite echoes of the infamous signing of Ali Dia on a recommendation of a George Weah impersonator, Tejero is a Uruguayan international with an eye for goal.

Having gone to the lengths of mentioning him on the official website, with Harry saying he might ‘take a punt’ on him, expect to see him holding up the shirt tomorrow.

Mystery Polish creative midfielder
After seeing so many potential transfers slip through our fingers, you can forgive Saints for being somewhat cryptic in revealing their targets. The official site mentions a second creative midfielder in the frame, as Saints try to ‘emulate the success of the capture of Tomasz Hajto’.

A little detective work and creative thinking provides a better clue as to who Harry may be after. Harry went to watch Polish champions Wizla Krakow in action last week, so it’s fair to assume that it will be a goalscoring midfielder and that his name will be impossible to spell or pronounce.

Take your pick from the Wizla Krakow team line up here, with Marek Zeinczuk one name mentioned, although Jakub Błaszczykowski would be worth signing for the shirt letter sales alone! It would seem odd that Harry would travel all that way in a match week for nothing, so assume he’ll be bring back a souvenir and let’s hope he’s of the same quality as Tomasz Hajto.

Mystery striker
Harry has been crying out for a 20-25 goal a season striker, although with the close of the transfer window looming, he’s been haggled down: ‘If I can find someone who can get me 15 goals then I will be happy’. With so many striking prospects already at the club, he’s really looking for a proven striker and hopes to pick off a Premiership striker on loan.

With proven Premiership strikers, looking to prove it once again the Premiership, this is a big ask for a Championship side. It may well be easier to pick up a striker in the January transfer window when players have sat on the bench for half a season. Clinton Morrison would have fitted the bill for Harry until his move home to Crystal Palace, but other names that have been mentioned are Jeffers, Earnshaw and Job.

Getting in the quality required without ending up with another benchwarmer to block the youngsters is the toughest ask of all, so don't hold you breath on this one (unless you can hold it until January and the site's lawyers advise against that).

Guide to On the Cross ratings:
0/5 Men in white coats time
1/5 Some bloke down the pub
2/5 Tabloid
3/5 Broadsheet
4/5 Official site
5/5 Holding up a shirt