🏟️ CLUBS **When Do Players Actually Get Signed?** Even though the window officially opens in June, around **90% of signings happen from the first week of July onwards**. Why? Fans assume that their club is just being slow but there are 2 significant reasons. -The financial year for PL clubs ends on June 31st so many clubs strategically wait for the new financial year. -That’s also when players return from holiday and clubs begin pre-season training- it’s simply more convenient for everyone. Deals that have been worked on for weeks or months are often completed just before or during the first week of pre-season (not to be confused with the first game of preseason). So if you see **strong links in May or June**, there’s a high chance they’ll go through in early July. When you see news of a bid going in, a deal being agreed or a bid being accepted etc around the time of the first week of pre season, it’s not a coincidence & they’ve intentionally waited for that time to wrap up the deal. **Examples:** Jesus and Lacazette. **Why Some Transfers Happen Early:** * Clubs need to meet financial deadlines. *E.g. Chelsea selling Havertz before the PSR cut-off.* * Players signing on a free via pre-contract. *E.g. Kolasinac, Lichtsteiner.* * Players wanting clarity before a summer tournament. *E.g. Podolski, Xhaka.* Players being signed via release clause. *If the club had a low spend in the previous summer window, they would have flexibility to spend before July, as it is within the same financial year. **Why Some Transfers Happen Late:** * Player had an extended holiday due to playing in a final or major tournament. *E.g. Rice.* * Player is injured—clubs may delay the deal to avoid paying wages early. *E.g. Tierney.* * It’s a more complicated deal, the selling club needs a replacement, or the buying club is waiting on outgoing transfers. **How Many Players Do Clubs Look At?** Clubs like Arsenal track loads of players. But when they’re ready to buy, they’ll shortlist players based on key criteria: ability, price, age, availability, etc. It’s normal for the club to lay groundwork for **multiple players in the same position**, so if Plan A falls through, they can quickly move to Plan B without starting over. **Example:** Calafiori. Just because Arsenal are “in talks” with a player doesn’t mean they’ve abandoned other targets. But sometimes Plan A is *so much better* than the rest that they won’t even bother with the alternatives. The shortlist can be altered or sometimes even abandoned if a market opportunity arises where a player becomes available for an offer that they can’t ignore. It’s common for players to be offered to the club by their agent or their own club. These are where most of the “out of nowhere” transfers happen. The club genuinely had no plans of signing that player until they were offered to them. **Who at the club is actually involved in transfers?”” The common misconception is that sporting directors & managers are speaking to the selling club throughout the whole process but this is far from the truth. They will be involved in key stages of the deal, such as initial contact, convincing a player to join & closing a deal but a lot of the studf in between is carried out by lawyers, negotiators, accountants & intermediaries. The director sets out a transfer strategy; an action plan on who to contact, when to contact, whether to prioritise speed or money, quantity or quality etc. Then they delegate roles to the right people to execute the plan. Previously, Arsenal’s chief negotiator was Dick Law but since then the structure has changed & the role is split across many people. In extreme cases, the sporting director may speak to the selling party completely on their own. This is usually seen for deals where they want to keep it quiet, as having too many people involved will get the deal leaked.