Well it’s almost that time of the year again, only a final few days to go before the closure of the summer transfer window for 2016/17, and with the international break seeing a rest from action for some , with so many deals already done this summer – well it gives manager’s and head coach’s the opportunity to focus solely on later minute, and no doubt last minute transfer action.
With no ’emergency loan’ window this season as well following changes by the governing authority, making sure teams have coverage this year is more important than ever, so it could be the busiest deadline day yet come Wednesday – especially with loans until January potentially being arranged for youngsters based on incomings.
The deadline this summer comes to a close at 11pm on Wednesday August 31, but of course for serial deadline day watchers, 11pm will mean nothing like normal as deals in principle get time extensions and players announce transfers a day or three later with all the loopholes that can be used for deals not 100% rubberstamped.
With last season’s deadline being named as 6pm owing to the way the end of the month and the Bank Holiday fell, well that was a godsend for people like me and of course we had the benefit of less beered up giggly idiots with the obligatory marital aides to deal with on Sky Sports, but with an 11pm return not only is an early morning on the cards for some of us – it’s also a case of see what transpires at clubs and training grounds around the country once more – oh the joy!
In any event, it’s been an eventful window so far with plenty of ‘will they, won’t they’ deals and a few new deals writing people into the history books – Paul Pogba from Juventus to Manchester United being one, John Stone’s from Everton to Manchester City being another – and we even have Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli to Juventus helping build a new list of record buys.
With the £1billion spending mark hit in 2015/16 for the first time, the summer accounting for £870million in the summer, with a further £172.65million in the January window, clubs have already passed the £870million mark this summer, so with late deals to go, plus January still to come – that’s likely to be a record of itself.
What do fans make of some of the dealings so far this transfer window, and anybody expecting some late surprises or major outgoings in the remaining few days?
One thing is for sure, it’s highly unlikely to be the most expensive signings of the summer that make the greatest difference to sides – it rarely ever works out that way.
