Norwich reject Rangers' bid for captain Holt

Rangers attempted to prise Grant Holt away from Norwich (PA)

Rangers yesterday confirmed that Norwich City had turned down an attempt to sign the striker Grant Holt. The Ibrox manager, Ally McCoist, made a move for the Canaries' captain as the top goalscorer Nikica Jelavic was set to complete his switch to Everton.

Everton confirmed earlier in the day that they had agreed a fee with Rangers for Jelavic, who has scored 17 goals this season. That meant that McCoist faced a race against time to replace the Croat before last night's transfer deadline. Holt caught the eye of the Rangers manager with nine goals in 23 appearances for the Premier League club so far this season.

The Rangers chairman, Craig Whyte, said the club had had no choice but to accept Everton's bid for Jelavic, who joined from Rapid Vienna for £4m in August 2010.

"One, the player wanted to leave and there is no point in trying to keep a player who no longer wants to be at Ibrox," he said. "Two, the club is simply not in a financial position to turn down offers for players which give the club a good return on its original investment."

Whyte, who pledged a £25m boost to the playing budget over five years before taking control, added: "In the summer transfer window last year we conducted 14 different pieces of transfer business, more than any other club in Scotland. This included new signings and improvement to existing contracts with key players, increasing the players' wage bill significantly. We now have a first-team squad of 30 which includes 18 full internationals.

"Admittedly, there were transfer targets we did not secure but that is not uncommon. As chairman, I have supported Ally McCoist in his choice of targets and will continue to do so. The timing of Jelavic's departure so late in this window is far from ideal and efforts to improve the squad will continue until the transfer window closes."

Elsewhere, the winger Ben Marshall joined Championship side Leicester from Stoke for an undisclosed fee. The 20-year-old would have been out of contract in the summer and was allowed to leave following a successful five-month loan spell with Sheffield Wednesday in League One. Marshall completed manager Nigel Pearson's third signing of the window, following the arrivals of Danny Drinkwater and Nathan Delfouneso, who were later joined by Wes Morgan from Nottingham Forest.

The Motherwell forward Jamie Murphy rejected a move to Blackpool. Motherwell confirmed that the two clubs had agreed a fee but Murphy turned down the opportunity to join the Championship club. The wide player, 22, has scored 34 goals in 172 games for the Fir Park club.

Deadline day: Pick of completed deals

Wayne Bridge (Man City – Sunderland) Loan

Kevin de Bruyne (Genk – Chelsea) £6.7m

Kevin de Bruyne (Chelsea – Genk) Loan

Clarke Carlisle (Burnley – Northampton) Loan

Djibril Cissé (Lazio – QPR) £4m

Billy Clarke (Blackpool – Crawley) Undisclosed

Matthew Connolly (QPR – Reading) Loan

Vedran Corluka (Tottenham – Bayer Leverkusen) Loan

Graham Cummins (Cork – Preston) Undisclosed

Thomas Eisfeld (Borussia Dortmund – Arsenal) £400k

Will Hoskins (Brighton – Sheffield United) Loan

Andy Keogh (Wolves – Millwall) Undisclosed

Alex MacDonald (Burnley – Plymouth) Loan

Ben Marshall (Stoke – Leicester) Undisclosed

Ryo Miyaichi (Arsenal – Bolton) Loan

Luke O'Brien (Bradford – Exeter) Undisclosed

Marcus Olsson (Halmstads – Blackburn) Free

Pavel Pogrebnyak (Stuttgart – Fulham) Undisclosed

Philipp Prosinik (Chelsea – Milan) Undisclosed

Liam Ridgewell (Birmingham – West Brom) Undisclosed

Fabien Robert (FC Lorient – Doncaster) Loan

Chris Robertson (Torquay – Preston) Undisclosed

Adam Smith (Tottenham – Leeds) Loan

James Tavernier (Newcastle – MK Dons) Loan

Juvhel Tsoumou (Preston – Plymouth) Loan

Matty Whichelow (Watford – Wycombe) Loan