Essien late arrival but little cash spent in Spain

Madrid - Real Madrid’s capture of Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien on a season long loan was the most important deal in Spain as the transfer window closed.

The 29-year-old reunited with Madrid coach Jose Mourinho Friday, who signed him from Olympic Lyon when he was boss at Chelsea, reports Xinhua.

Essien is very much a Mourinho style player, hard-working, tough in the tackle and able to adapt into a variety of roles.

He will provide much needed cover to a Madrid midfield which has seen the arrival of Luka Modric, but also the departures of Esteban Granero, Nuri Sahin and the last minute sale of Lassana Diarra this summer transfer window.

Real Madrid were not the only Spain club busy on the last day of the transfer window, Betis signed former Villarreal defender Angel Lopez, while Rayo Vallecano sealed deals to bring in defender Rodri from Spartak Moscow and Racing Santander midfielder Arana.

Mallorca brought in some attacking talent with the signing of former Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona forward, Geovani Dos Santos on a four-year-deal, while Deportivo la Coruna brought in left back Tiago Pinto.

Finally Celta Vigo reached an agreement to take Arsenal midfielder Park Chu Young on loan for the campaign.

Some players who were expected to move on have remained at their clubs: Kaka and Ricardo Carvalho have not left Real Madrid after speculation over their future.

Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente also remains at his current club after saying he wanted a move.

One factor if the summer is the lack of money spent in Spain while the English Premier League has seen clubs spend around 500 million euros, austerity has been the order of the day in La Liga.