Barnsley manager Danny Wilson has signed Norwegian international Jan Aage Fjortoft from Sheffield United after initial fears the deal was dead due to Brian Deane's £1 million departure to Benfica.
Wilson moved in for Fjortoft after watching him play in Tuesday's FA Cup third round replay at Bury, but Benfica manager Graeme Souness' enticing two-and-a-half year deal for Deane seemed to scupper the transfer.
United chief executive Charles Green originally admitted the club could not contemplate selling two strikers, preferring to let Deane go to uphold a promise he made to the 29-year-old when he signed for £1 million from Leeds in the summer - informing him of interest from any big European club. But in a dramatic u-turn - which leaves United with just two name forwards on their books in Dean Saunders and Gareth Taylor - Sheffield have decided to part company with both players.
Benfica's £1 million approach for Deane - with United breaking even - left Sheffield in a powerless position and after holding talks with Souness and passing his medical in Portugal yesterday, Deane agreed a deal believed to be worth £20,000 per week, wages which United revealed were "impossible to match".
The former England international, United's leading scorer this season with 13 goals on his return to the club where he spent five seasons between 1988-93, now has the move he has always craved. Deane apparently turned down a transfer to the continent in the summer to rejoin United, but Benfica's offer and the chance to link up with Souness has proved an irresistible combination.
United have been forced to cash in as Deane would have been out-of-contract in the summer and available to leave the club on a free transfer under the Bosman ruling. Souness will now be hoping Deane can fire fifth-placed Benfica into second in the Portuguese First Division - as they trail leaders Porto by 16 points - and a place in next season's Champions' League.
Fjortoft, in a bid for regular first team football again and to enhance his prospects for a place in Norway's World Cup squad, has also put pen to paper to a two-and-a-half year agreement, with Barnsley, paying £800,000.
Also yesterday, Crystal Palace received a double boost to their Premiership survival chances by agreeing a deal to sign French defender Valerien Ismael for a club record £2.75 million and persuading Swedish international Tomas Brolin to stay with them until the end of the season.
