League One club bizarrely sign the same former Premier League player TWICE in the January transfer window as they confirm deadline day deal
- Fans were left baffled when their club signed a player who had left days before
- The former Aston Villa goalkeeper is trying to get his career back on track
- Two Premier League managers are heading for difficult conversations this summer – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off Transfer Week podcast
A League One club signed the same player twice in the January transfer window – bringing him back just three days after he walked out.
Peterborough United’s acquisition of free agent Jed Steer seemed an ordinary signing on January 4 when they gave him a short-term deal to cover for first-choice goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic.
That deal expired on January 29 and Steer wanted to go because he couldn’t be guaranteed enough play time.
The former Aston Villa goalkeeper had made four appearances but was out of the team on Bilokapic’s return against Wimbledon.
Peterborough therefore turned heads when they unveiled Steer as a fresh signing on deadline day, just three days later, as they double-dipped on the 31-year-old custodian.
Fans were confused when Peterborough United signed Jed Steer on deadline day – just three days after he left
Steer had initially joined Peterborough on January 4 but left on January with concerns over his game time moving forward
Steer has been handed a contract until the end of the season.
When he left, manager Darren Ferguson had explained: ‘Jed came to see me this morning and said he wanted to go. I understood his reasons, I was a bit disappointed, not with him, just in general because I think he has done very well for us.
‘He doesn’t want to risk not being guaranteed playing every week.’
However, Steer seemed upbeat upon his new unveiling, telling the club’s website: ‘I am happy to be back, and I am here to help the club in an exciting part of the season with the team in a good position in the league and also in the semi-finals of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.
‘It was a strange feeling watching the scores come through on Tuesday evening, so when I heard that there was something to be done, it was obviously an opportunity that I wanted to take.
‘I was gutted to leave in the first place, but I am here now, and I can’t wait to get back out there at training.’
Steer has previously played higher up the pyramid. He guarded the net in Aston Villa’s Championship play-off final win against Derby County in 2019 and has made three Premier League appearances.
His time at Villa was punctuated by a series of loans and he has represented nine different teams in the top five tiers of English football.
Jed Steer previously won the Championship play-off with Aston Villa in 2019 (pictured after semi-final second leg)
Villans released him in May 2023 after a season ruined by injury and it has taken him eight months to find a new club, having been with Villa for a decade.
It’s safe to say fans were left baffled by the surprise unveiling as they had been expecting a new face through the door – not one they had just bade farewell to.
‘Only we do a transfer tease and bring back a player that “left” just a few days before,’ wrote one on X, formerly Twitter.
‘My head is spinning, what do you mean he’s back?’ said one.
‘3rd signing of the window and its the same as the 1st,’ said another.
‘Thought he wanted out? Good addition,’ commented another.
