Aston Villa were close to signing Cleverley after the Red Devils accepted a £7.5million offer on deadline day.
However, despite the 25 year-old seemingly set on a move to Villa, Everton attempted to hijack the deal but were knocked back after United rejected a fee considerably smaller than Villa's.
Villa quickly revived their deal for the Englishman, this time opting to push ahead for a loan deal, and were granted an extension by the Premier League to complete the neccessary paperwork by 1am.
But, after the club apparently submitted the loan application after 1am, Villa were left anxiously waiting to hear back from the Premier League about if they had managed to secure Cleverley's signature in time.
After lengthy discussions and negotiations the application was sanctioned shortly before midday today, allowing Tom Cleverley to become an Aston Villa player.
With less than 12 months on his contract at Old Trafford, he will be costless to speak to other clubs and could leave United permanently in January. However, there is an option for Villa to buy Cleverley for £7.5million if the player impresses.
For Paul Lambert, the capture of Cleverley represents a successful transfer window adding to the arrivals of Joe Cole, Aly Cissokho, Kieran Richardson, Carlos Sanchez and Philippe Senderos. Cleverley is expected to make his debut for the Villians at Liverpool after the international break where he will hope to help his new club maintain their unbeaten record in the Premier League so far.