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West Ham have frequently found themselves to be busy in the final 24 hours of the summer transfer window.

With the current regime renowned for leaving their business until the last minute, the Hammers have often been involved in transfers on deadline day too in recent years. But who have been the best players to join the club at the last minute, since transfer windows were introduced at the beginning of the century? Take a look below...

10. Matthew Upson: Winter 2007



A £6million signing from Birmingham City on the final day of January 2007, the centre half was marmite in the eyes of West Ham fans but became the final player to wear Bobby Moore's famous number six shirt before it was retired. He also went on to captain the club and represent England in the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa before moving to Stoke City on a free transfer in August 2011.


9. Niko Vlasic: Summer 2021



A big money signing for David Moyes on the final day of August 2021 at £25.7million - the club's largest outlay on deadline day so far - Vlasic should've been the next piece in the jigsaw but simply failed to settle in England for a second time (having previously 'enjoyed' a spell with Everton during his teenage years) and was shunted out on loan to Torino after just one season in Stratford, before being sold for a fraction of the fee paid for him two years earlier.


8. Lionel Scaloni: Winter 2006



Having fallen out with Deportivo manager Joaquín Caparrós after eight years with the La Liga side, Argentinian international Scaloni joined West Ham on a half-season loan in January 2006 after Alan Pardew had given up on signing Gabri from Barcelona. A brief spell in east London was highlighted by an appearance in the FA Cup Final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium- a game for which he will always be remembered as the player who conceded possession allowing Steven Gerrard to score a last minute equaliser that sent the game into extra time. He's been pretty busy since too, including winning last winter's World Cup as manager of Argentina.


7. Carl Fletcher: Summer 2004



The much-travelled midfielder enjoyed spells with the likes of Watford, Crystal Palace, Plymouth and Barnet during a varied career but it was his brief spell in east London for which he is most fondly remembered by Irons fans. A £275,000 signing from Bournemouth on 31 August 2004, Fletcher was an uncompromising, hard-working midfielder during his two seasons at the club which included an appearance in the 2005 FA Cup Final against Liverpool.


6. Ricardo Vaz Te: Winter 2012



Signed without too much of a fanfare, as part of a triple deadline day swoop which also saw Ravel Morrison and Nicky Maynard arrive in east London, Sam Allardyce paid Barnsley just £500,000 to take the Portuguese winger on 31 January 2012 just hours after the deal appeared to be off. Vaz Te paid every penny of that back, and some, by scoring the winning goal in the Championship play-off Final against Blackpool at Wembley just four months later in the global game's richest match.


5. Rufus Brevett: Winter 2003



The left back was going through the motions at Fulham before Glenn Roeder decided to move for Derby-born Brevetti n the closing hours of the 2003 transfer window, as part of a desperate January overhaul designed to halt the club's lurch towards relegation. And while he went on to become a popular figure amongst the fanbase, Brevett was unable to prevent the Hammers dropping through the trap door on a record 42 points for a relegated club.


4. Jarrod Bowen: Winter 2020



An expensive gamble for David Moyes at some £18million, Bowen moved from Championship outfit Hull on the final day of the January 2020 window. The fleet-footed winger has proven to be a fine acquisition for the club, scoring 42 goals in three-and-a-half seasons and earned his place in West Ham folklore by scoring the winning goal in the Europa Conference League Final in Prague back in June.


3. Michail Antonio: Summer 2015



Signing for what now looks like a paltry £7million, the winger arrived from Nottingham Forest late on deadline day 2015. Antonio went on to become a loyal servent to West Ham, making more than 280 appearances to date having played on the right wing, at right wing back and, more recently, and a dedicated striker - a position in which he also features for Jamaica at international level.


2. Alex Song: Summer 2015



Big Sam finally found his claret and blue version of Youri Djorkaeff on 30 August 2014 and Song, signed on loan from Barcelona proved to be a big success at the Boleyn - so much so that he put pen to paper on a second season at the club a year later. Summer transfer deadline day 2015 was officially the busiest in the club's history, a day that also saw the likes of Nikica Jelevic, Victor Moses and the aforementioned Michail Antonio arrive at West Ham.


1. Carlos Tevez & Javier Mascherano: Summer 2006



The big one that nobody saw coming. Rumours emerged in the early hours of 31 August 2006 that something quite extraordinary was about to happen at West Ham - and just as folk were readying themselves for their daily commute, news broke that the Hammers had somehow pulled off an audacious double swopp for Argentine youngsters Tevez and Mascherano. While hopes were high that the duo could lift West Ham to previously unseen heights, both were gone from the club by the start of the following season.

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