Hector signed by Chelsea and loaned back to Reading

Hector made 49 appearances for Reading across all competitions last season as the Royals ran to a disappointing 19th-place finish in the Championship.

The window is closed and the biggest signing is that of Papy Djibodji, a Senegal footballer formerly of Nantes.

Djilobodji has now signed a four-year deal with Chelsea after completing a transfer worth a reported £4 million.

Jose Mourinho’s pursuit of Everton centre-half John Stones proved one of the most talked-about stories during the transfer window.

The inability to bring the trio in to Stamford Bridge meant that it was a surprisingly low-key deadline day for the Premier League champions.

The hijacked deal came as the Portuguese added another defender to his ranks with the signing of Papy Djilobodji from Ligue 1 side Nantes.

Hector, who is thought to be an avid Chelsea fan himself, finally established himself as one of the finest defenders in the second tier of English football, following an early career of 11 loan spells in total.

Chelsea also announced Izzy Brown, now on loan for the season at Vitesse Arnhem in Holland, has signed a four-year contract. The Toffees, however, remained resolute in their attempts to hold on to the player, rejecting at least two offers from the Blues in addition to a transfer request from Stones.

Chelsea are already somewhat limited in their central options, so selling Mikel this summer would have only compounded that.

Meanwhile, Victor Moses is poised to sign a long-term contract before leaving Chelsea on loan.

That has left them eight points behind leaders Manchester City before they return to action at Everton on 12 September.

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Djilobodji has now taken to Instagram to pose with his new shirt and tell his followers how proud he is to have joined Chelsea and says he can’t wait to get going with his new club.