LONDON -- Fulham brought in Germany midfielder Lewis Holtby and Greece striker Kostas Mitroglou, while Cardiff took winger Wilfried Zaha on loan from Manchester United as struggling English Premier League clubs reinforced their squads on Friday. The rush of contracts came as the January transfer window was closing late Friday. The 23-year-old Holtby arrived at Tottenham from Schalke 12 months ago in a 1.25 million pound ($2 million) deal but struggled to establish himself at Spurs. According to Holtbys agent, Marcus Noak, the player was keen on returning to the Bundesliga but his price tag was a dissuasive factor. "A return to the Bundesliga has been shattered due to circumstances we couldnt control," Noak said. "Fulham has put much effort into Lewis. It is a very well-run club with an excellent manager, Rene Meulensteen. The system and philosophy how Fulham plays fits well with Lewis." Holtby has joined Fulham on loan for the rest of the season. His signing follows the recent arrivals of Clint Dempsey -- on a two-month loan from the Seattle Sounders -- and William Kvist. "Ill do what I can to help us beat teams and keep us up and out of the bottom three and ensure that we have a good remainder of the season," Holtby said. Languishing in the relegation zone, Fulham achieved a real coup with the midfielders arrival as Adel Taarabt headed to AC Milan following a disappointing spell at Craven Cottage. Fulham also added to its attack with the signing of Mitroglou on a four-and-a-half-year deal from Olympiakos. The Greece forward is expected to replace Dimitar Berbatov, who has been linked with a move to Monaco and is expected in the principality on Friday for a medical. Also involved in the relegation fight, Cardiffs new manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer used his United connections to lure Zaha from Old Trafford, where the 21-year-old is judged surplus to requirements. Zaha helped Crystal Palace secure promotion through the playoffs last year but was relegated to the bench by United. Zaha is Cardiffs sixth January signing after Solksjaer, a former United player, reinforced his struggling squad with the addition of Fabio, Kenwyne Jones, Magnus Wolff Eikrem, Mats Moller Daehli and Jo Inge Berget. Cardiff is bottom of the Premier League and Solksjaer is hoping that Zahas skills will lead his side out of the drop zone. He said Zaha "will bring that little final bit to find pockets of space and produce a bit of magic." The big teams remained relatively quiet as United confirmed it would not make any more signings before the 2300 GMT deadline after it shattered the club record transfer by paying Chelsea 37.1 million pounds ($61 million) for Spain midfielder Juan Mata last week. "You can stand your cameras down," United manager David Moyes told a news conference. "I dont think they will be required. We have done our business." Chelsea announced the signing of Saint-Etienne defender Kurt Zouma on a five-and-a-half-year deal but the 19-year-old central defender will remain on loan at the French club until the end of the season. Chelseas north London rivals Arsenal looked for a replacement for the injured Aaron Ramsey and were expected to sign veteran midfielder Kim Kallstrom on loan for the remainder of the season. English topflight clubs had already spent 10 million pounds ($16.5 million) more than this time last year. According to football finance experts Deloitte, Premier League clubs had spent 95 million pounds ($156 million) on acquiring new players ahead of the deadline day, with gross spending at this point last season reaching 85 million pounds ($140 million). On the final day of the window in January 2013, they spent 35 million pounds ($57.5 million). Regardless of the amount of activity on Friday, Deloitte says Premier League clubs have already set a record for transfer spending this season, which broke the "700 million pounds ($1.15 billion) mark for the first time, with spending currently at 725 million pounds ($1.19 billion)." Jason Heyward Jersey . If one fighter gases, he usually gets beat up pretty bad from that point on. Nicholas Castellanos Cubs Jersey . Knapp defeated American Alison Riske 6-3, 7-5 to secure Italys victory in the best-of-five series. She held a 5-2 lead in the second set, only to let Riske tie it at five. https://www.cheapcubs.com/420t-kris-bryant-jersey-cubs.html . Chris Heisey connected for his first grand slam and Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in a career high-tying four runs as Cincinnati took advantage of Tampa Bays depleted pitching staff for a 12-4 victory on Sunday. Anthony Rizzo Jersey . Seth Smith hit a towering drive for a tying homer leading off the eighth and Chris Denorfia singled home two runs to give the Padres a 3-1 victory against the rival Dodgers in baseballs North American opener Sunday night. Ernie Banks Jersey . Howard had 17 points and a career-high-tying 26 rebounds in his Houston debut, James Harden added 21 points and the Rockets cruised to a 96-83 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.Samuel Etoo said Wednesday it was "definitive." Having threatened to give up playing for his country before, Cameroons all-time leading goal-scorer announced he was definitely retiring this time, ending an international career that began a day before his 16th birthday and took in four World Cups, two African Cup of Nations titles, an Olympic gold medal and a record four African Player of the Year awards. Etoo leaves international football as Africas most decorated player. The 33-year-old forward played more than 100 games for his country and scored 56 goals, the most by anyone for Cameroon. He announced his decision to give up days after he was left out of Cameroons squad for next months African Cup qualifiers and then stripped of the captaincy. "I wish to inform you that I put a definitive end to my international career," Etoo said on his official Facebook page in a statement published in both English and French. "On this occasion, I wish to thank all Africans in particular and all my fans around the world for their love and unconditional support. Find here the expression of my deep gratitude." The talents of Etoo were undeniable — proved also by his success with some of Europes biggest clubs like Barcelona and Inter Milan — but he was sometimes troublesome with his national team. He was once banned for 15 games by Cameroon for rallying players to go on strike and refusing to play a friendly game in 2011. His ban was later reduced to just four games after a public outcry in Cameroon and the intervvention of the countrys president — a sign of how much he was admired at home.dddddddddddd His leadership didnt always inspire those around him and at this summers World Cup in Brazil, Cameroon turned in a woeful performance that was criticized fiercely by fans back home. Cameroon coach Volker Finke said this week that "after two squandered World Cups, we need profound changes." And after Finke left out Etoo from the squad to play in qualifiers next month, the Cameroon sports ministry said it was dropping Etoo as captain permanently and replacing him with midfielder Stephane Mbia. At his height, Etoo was one of the best strikers in the world. Making his debut internationally as a 15-year-old underlined his rare talent. He won back-to-back African Cups in 2000 and 2002 and Olympic gold at the Sydney Games in 2000. Etoo was at his peak personally for Cameroon at the African Cups in 2006 and 2008, where he finished both as the tournaments leading scorer. But despite the presence of Etoo, Cameroon never reached any great heights at the World Cup during his career. In fact, in four World Cups, Etoo won just one game. But he scored a record number of goals for Cameroon in his 17-year-career and his strike rate was a goal every two games. His retirement follows another great African striker, Ivory Coasts Didier Drogba, who also chose to give up internationals after the World Cup. The decision by Etoo frees him up to concentrate on his new club challenge after signing this week for Everton in the Premier League. ' ' '