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)." Darrell Green Womens Jersey . -- Chicago manager Darold Butler has a message for the Windy City. John Riggins Redskins Jersey . Boston is making its first appearance in the ALCS since 2008. For Detroit, its a third straight trip to the ALCS and its fourth in eight years. http://www.redskinsrookiestore.com/Redskins-Bryce-Love-Jersey/ . And he said Sunday that players believe nobody in Sterlings family should be able to own the Los Angeles Clippers if hes gone. Landon Collins Redskins Jersey .J. - Pete Carroll is in support of the NFL looking further into whether medicinal marijuana could beneficial for players. Terry McLaurin Womens Jersey . -- Martin Kaymer never lost sight of opportunity even amid so much evidence of trouble in the closing stretch Sunday at The Players Championship.NEW YORK -- C.J. Fair didnt have many chances to be the main option for Syracuse last season. Now he has plenty. The 6-foot-8 forward has gone from the Oranges fourth option to No. 1, and he showed why Sunday in a 68-63 victory over St. Johns at Madison Square Garden. "We went to C.J., and he made a couple of tough plays. Shots that had to be made," coach Jim Boeheim said. "Hes been a key player. He wasnt our first option last year but hes always made big shots, big plays for us. We had other guys but he was developing. Hes going to get the ball and these opportunities, and hes prepared for that." Fair hit three big shots from the same spot -- about 15 feet from the basket on the right baseline. The smooth left-handed shooter tied the game from there at 58 with 6:51 to go, then he made two more in the final 3 minutes as the second-ranked Orange (10-0) were able to open a lead as big as seven points. "Im very comfortable on the baseline. I guess thats what you say is my sweet spot," he said. Since 1979, this had always been a Big East Conference game. Syracuse is now a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and St. Johns remained in the Big East. The majority of the crowd of 16,357 was rooting for Syracuse, something they used to get to do during the Big East tournament. Now, it will be a rare visit to Madison Square Garden for the Orange. "It was a great game at the Garden," Boeheim said. Fair and freshman guard Tyler Ennis both scored 21 points to lead the Orange. Ennis had 15 points in the first half as Syracuse took a 39-27 lead. The Red Storm (6-3) chipped away and were able to tie it at 53 on three free throws by Rysheed Jordan with 9:16 to go. There were then four lead changes and three ties as Syracuse became the second highly ranked team to escape this weekend.dddddddddddd No. 1 Arizona beat Michigan 72-70 on Saturday. Ennis was "really unbelievable" in the first half, Boeheim said. "In the second half they did a much better job on him," he said. "As a freshman point guard, he is playing better than any I ever had, and Ive had a few pretty good freshman guards. If he played like a freshman, wed be 7-3. Hes been the difference in our team." DAngelo Harrison led St. Johns with 21 points on 6-of-19 shooting, including 1 of 5 from 3-point range. Jordan had a career-high 13 points for the Red Storm and JaKarr Sampson added 12. Jerami Grant scored 14 points for the Orange. This was Syracuses first true road game this season. It was the Oranges ninth straight win in the series that Syracuse leads 51-37. The Red Storm missed their first 10 attempts from 3-point range and were 1 of 15 overall. They were coming off a 104-58 victory over Fordham in which they shot 60 per cent on 3s. "The last four minutes of a game is where Syracuse separates itself," St. Johns coach Steve Lavin said. "I was very disappointed with the first half, happy with the first 16 minutes of the second half, and I really didnt like the finish. We didnt execute and didnt play with any purpose at all." Lavin referred to turnovers, forced shots and some missed free throws. The Red Storm missed four straight foul shots after taking a 60-58 lead. They were 20 for 26 from the line overall. "It hurts to lose but it hurts to lose to Syracuse in particular," Harrison said. "Certain things that you can take away from the last four minutes of the game, thats what we will watch the most." ' ' '