Maiga deal completes frenetic day at QPR

QPR completed the pre-deadline loan signing of West Ham misfit Modibo Maiga to round off their now traditional flurry of transfer activity before the window closed.

Mali international Maiga, one of four strikers brought in on Friday, has joined the club until the end of the season.

The deal for the 26-year-old went through shortly after the signing of Manchester United forward Will Keane, also on loan for the rest of the campaign.

Rangers wanted at least one striker this month to complement top scorer Charlie Austin – but they began deadline day needing a replacement for him.

With Austin facing a prolonged spell on the sidelines with a shoulder injury, Rangers moved to sign Kevin Doyle – a player they were offered along with Karl Henry in the summer.

Wolves had been looking for a chance to offload the Republic of Ireland forward and a deal was swiftly concluded in time for Doyle, 30, to make his debut against Burnley on Saturday.

Danny Simpson’s back injury meant signing a defender was also priority, and enquiries were made about a number of players before an approach was made to Fulham for the experienced Aaron Hughes.

Northern Ireland international Hughes, 34, was allowed to leave Craven Cottage, where he was not in boss Rene Meulensteen’s first-team plans.

By 9.30am, R’s boss Harry Redknapp knew he had a striker and defender on board, but also that his planned bid for West Ham midfielder Mo Diame was highly unlikely to succeed.

The offer was duly rejected, but Redknapp was still more than happy for Samba Diakite to join Watford on loan following talks between the two clubs over the player’s wages.

As Diakite was completing his move to Vicarage Road, Rangers announced the signing of Brazilian striker  Guilherme Dellatorre, while Keane was on his way to London to finalise his move.

Meanwhile, Adel Taarabt’s loan to AC Milan was rubber-stamped and Tom Hitchcock’s loan spell at Rotherham was extended until the end of the season.

As Keane, whose signing was subsequently confirmed shortly before 11pm, turned up at Loftus Road to undergo a medical, Redknapp was pondering a deal for Maiga, having recently rejected the chance to sign him.

With Austin injured, and with Rangers having been unable to agree personal terms with Inter Milan’s Ishak Belfodil or beat the deadline to capture ex-Arsenal man Eduardo from Shakhtar Donetsk, Maiga was added to the squad.

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