Darren Fletcher has brought a near 20-year association with Manchester United to an end as he agreed a move to West Bromwich Albion.

 

The Scotland skipper, who has made 342 appearances for United having joined as a youth in 1995, has struggled to figure under new manager Louis van Gaal this term in spite of completing his recovery from a crippling ulcer condition.

However a day after celebrating his 31st birthday Fletcher, who won five Premier Leagues and a Champions League at Old Trafford, is opening a new chapter under recently-arrived Hawthorns manager Tony Pulis.

Fletcher's one-time Scotland teammate Graham Dorrans however remained in limbo with time running out last night as his own move from the Premier League to Norwich in the Championship was held up. 

Bolton's Neil Lennon  sealed a deal for Scotland internationalist Barry Bannan last night. The Crystal Palace midfielder had reportedly been a target of Parkhead chiefs in recent weeks but instead found himself making the move to the English Championship after Lennon secured him on a loan deal until the end of the season.

Bannan, who has 19 caps to his name, has struggled to establish himself at Selhurst Park since moving to Palace from Aston Villa last season, making just 18 league appearances in that time. He will hope that a stint with Lennon's upwardly-mobile Trotters can help him break return to his best form.

There will have been many raised eyebrows at Easter Road over one of the bigger cash deals in the English second tier last night when former Hibernian frontman Eoin Doyle joined Cardiff City for a deal that could be worth as much as £1.25million. The Irishman, far from prolific in Edinburgh, has been in stellar form for Chesterfield in League One this term.

Doyle was joined in the Welsh capital by former Kilmarnock and Scotland Under 21 winger Matthew Kennedy who joined Cardiff on a three and a half year deal from Everton.