5 truly bizarre Transfer Deadline Day stories

#1 Odemwingie’s unauthorised trip to Loftus Road (2013)

Peter Odemwingie took matters into his own hands to attempt to force a move away from West Brom

The January transfer window is usually relatively free of bizarre moments in comparison to its summer counterpart, but that wasn’t the case in 2013, as a controversial incident involving Nigerian striker Peter Odemwingie left football fans across the world absolutely gobsmacked.

Odemwingie had spent 2 seasons at West Bromwich Albion, and after hitting 10 Premier League goals in 2011-12, the striker evidently decided that he was destined for bigger things. And so when the January 2013 transfer window rolled around, he slapped in a transfer request.

The Baggies were having none of it, outright stating that they didn’t want to lose any players during the window, but Odemwingie was still determined to move, and late in the month, it appeared that he’d found a suitor in the form of QPR, who made a £2m bid for the Nigerian.

West Brom turned the bid down, but after going on an outrageous Twitter rant against the Baggies – who he accused of doubting his commitment and stealing his loyalty – Odemwingie decided to attempt to force his way out of the Hawthorns rather than wait any longer.

On deadline day, the Nigerian made a 125-mile trip from West Bromwich to London, arriving at Loftus Road with hours remaining in the window – only to find himself locked out of QPR’s training ground. Unsurprisingly, Rangers didn’t want to risk any contact with the striker due to the fact that their bid had been turned down.

Odemwingie was instead forced to return to West Brom with his tail tucked firmly between his legs – and it came as no surprise when he was largely frozen out of the Baggies’ first team before finally departing for Cardiff in the next transfer window.