Albion were still chasing a deadline-day deal for a defender today after record signing Borja Valero beat the clock to seal a move from The Hawthorns.

Head coach Roberto Di Matteo was still looking to add further strength to his backline as the summer transfer window entered its final hours this afternoon, although the chances of a deal appeared to be receeding.

And the Baggies could still see further departures after Valero clinched a last-minute season-long loan move back to Real Mallorca last night.

The 24-year-old midfielder, who signed from Mallorca for £4.7m last summer, returned to the La Liga club with just half-an-hour left in the Spanish transfer window.

Reports in Spain suggest Albion will net around £500,000 in a loan fee and Mallorca have also secured the first option to re-sign Valero permanently next summer.

Meanwhile, Albion officials were still monitoring interest in out-of-favour defender Abdoulaye Meite today, although his potential destinations were limited as many European countries closed their transfer windows last night.

The deadline in England has been extended to 5pm today because of yesterday’s Bank Holiday, making a domestic loan the most likely route out of Albion for Meite, who has not figured in the League under Di Matteo.

His future could depend on continued moves to recruit a new centre-back, although the Baggies were not thought to be close to a deal this morning. Talks have continued with Auxerre over Romania international centre-back Gabriel Tamas but the clubs still appeared to be some way apart in their negotiations.

The French club want a cash deal while Albion favour an initial loan, and any transfer is complicated by the fact the player has already agreed a season-long loan with Dinamo Bucharest, who would need to be compensated should he move elsewhere.

One piece of business was looking likely as Baggies officials are considering extending Shaun Cummings’ loan from Chelsea until January.