The transfer window swung shut late last night, bringing a month of hectic activity to an end. Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson assesses the incomings and outgoings at the North-East’s three biggest clubs.

NEWCASTLE UNITED

IN:
Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille, £5m)
Stephen Ireland (Aston Villa, Loan)
OUT:
Wayne Routledge (QPR, Loan)
Ryan Donaldson (Hartlepool, Loan)
Andy Carroll (Liverpool, £35m)
Xisco (Deportivo La Coruna, Loan)

WHAT a difference a day makes. Yesterday morning, Newcastle were coasting serenely towards the end of the transfer window, with little to get anyone too excited or concerned.

Hatem Ben Arfa’s loan move from Marseille had become a permanent transfer worth £5m. Wayne Routledge had joined QPR on loan, while Stephen Ireland was poised to move from Aston Villa until the end of the season. Ryan Donaldson had left for Hartlepool. Don’t scoff, it really was that unremarkable.

True, there had persistent rumours about Andy Carroll’s possible departure.

But Tottenham’s £23m offer had been rejected towards the end of last week, and Alan Pardew had consistently claimed the striker would be going nowhere before the end of the transfer window.

So much for the promises of a manager. There are 35 million reasons why Carroll is a Liverpool player this morning, and it did not take long for Mike Ashley to add them to the credit column of the club’s balance sheet.

Liverpool’s bid was accepted in the middle of the afternoon, Carroll immediately expressed a willingness to move to Anfield, and the whole thing was done and dusted before Sky’s transfer ticker had reached meltdown.

The aftermath will take rather longer to run its course, and once the dust settles on Newcastle’s clubrecord sale, the remaining members of the squad must set about the task of keeping the Magpies in the Premier League.

The task will obviously be tougher without their leading goalscorer, and for all that Pardew bullishly talked up Ireland’s goalscoring capabilities last night, the lack of a direct replacement for Carroll is a major blow.

Time was always going to be against Newcastle, but the likes of Peter Crouch, Carlton Cole, Johan Elmander and Nicklas Bendtner were all mentioned as possible targets in the hours leading up to last night’s deadline.

None made it to Tyneside, leaving Shola Ameobi, Leon Best, Peter Lovenkrands and Nile Ranger as Newcastle’s only available strikers in the final four months of the season.

As Pardew will discover to his cost, you can’t play £35m up front. Without Carroll, can Newcastle survive?

SUNDERLAND

IN:
Sulley Muntari (Inter Milan, Loan)
Stephane Sessegnon (Paris St Ger., £6m)
OUT:
Michael Kay (Tranmere, Loan)
Matt Kilgallon (Doncaster, Loan)
George McCartney (Leeds, Loan)
Darren Bent (Aston Villa, £24m)
David Healy (Rangers, Free)
Trevor Carson (Lincoln, Loan)
Paulo Da Silva (Real Zaragoza, £500,000)
Andy Reid (Blackpool, £750,000)

WHEN the transfer window opened in January, Steve Bruce confidently predicted a quiet month. Less than three weeks later, and Sunderland’s world had been turned upside down.

Darren Bent’s transfer request might not have been a huge surprise given his threat to join Fenerbahce last summer, but the identity of his suitors nevertheless caused eyebrows to raise. For all the talk of history and ambition, money was the primary motive.

With Bent’s head turned, Sunderland could do little other than sell. To Niall Quinn and Steve Bruce’s credit, £24m was a superb return for a player that had cost less than half that price 18 months earlier.

With Bent gone, the rest of the month turned into a process of damage limitation. Inquiries were made left, right and centre, but the absence of a like-forlike replacement quickly became apparent.

As a result, Bruce opted to bolster his midfield with the loan purchase of Sulley Muntari and permanent capture of Stephane Sessegnon - deals that were mooted long before Bent left - while resisting the temptation to spend big money on a stop-gap striker.

The likes of Ricardo Fuller and Jay Bothroyd were considered, but rapidly rejected when their price tags were deemed much too high.

Further significant investment is likely in the summer, but Sunderland will be alarmingly short of firepower if Asamoah Gyan suffers an injury in the next five or six weeks.

Bent might have been by far the biggest name to leave the Stadium of Light last month, but he was not the only player heading through the exit door as the wage bill was trimmed.

David Healy’s unsuccessful spell on Wearside ended as he joined Rangers, Paulo Da Silva headed for Spain to link up with Real Zaragoza and Andy Reid joined Blackpool after spending the first half of the season on loan at Sheffield United. None really fulfilled their potential during their time at the Stadium of Light.

MIDDLESBROUGH

IN:
Maximilian Haas (Bayern Munich, Free)
Marouane Zemmama (Hibernian, Free)
OUT:
David Wheater (Bolton, £3.5m)
Gary O’Neil (West Ham, £1.5m)
Lee Miller (Scunthorpe, Loan)

IT might not have been the fire sale that was predicted, but January ended with Middlesbrough having raised enough revenue to ease their challenging financial situation.

The departure of David Wheater and Gary O’Neil raised around £5m, and just as significantly, also shaved around £55,000-a-week off the club’s wage bill.

If, as now looks all but certain, promotion is not achieved this season, the money will come in more than useful as Boro adapt to life without a full Premier League parachute payment.

Wheater’s move to Bolton suited all parties, with the defender getting a deserved opportunity to re-establish himself in the Premier League. Similarly, it was hard to begrudge the hardworking O’Neil a return to the top-flight with West Ham.

Other departures appeared likely at various stages of the window, but Kris Boyd rejected possible moves to Russia and Turkey, and the opportunity of a return to Rangers never materialised.

Similarly, QPR’s interest in Leroy Lita cooled once a £3m price tag was mentioned.

Tony Mowbray never expected this month’s outgoings to be matched with similarly high-profile arrivals, but it is hard to imagine the Boro boss being too overjoyed at the limited strengthening he was able to enact.

Maximilian Haas signed a one-and-a-half year contract after moving from Bayern Munich, while Moroccan midfielder Marouane Zemmama arrived on a free transfer from Hibernian.

Haas will help to plug the gap created by Wheater’s departure, while Zemmama will add some much-needed creativity to Boro’s midfield.

A deal for Andrew Davies could not be agreed, although he could still join on loan, but Mowbray was able to add two more players to his squad, with Andrew Taylor and Jonathan Grounds returning from loan spells at Watford and Hibernian respectively.

Taylor, in particular, could be a useful presence in the second half of the season, and Mowbray remains keen to secure his services beyond the end of the campaign.

• When fees have been undisclosed, the price quoted is an estimate.