Give Fabrizio Romano a week off, tell the social media teams to stop thinking of ingenious ways to reveal new signings and cue up tiny violins for the agents: this is an unusually quiet summer transfer window for those working in club football.
With a little over three weeks until the transfer deadline, Premier League clubs have spent a total of €1.31bn (£1.12bn) in this window, less than half the €2.77bn (£2.38bn) that they shelled out in the summer of 2023.
Net spend has fallen by an even greater margin. Deducting transfer fees received, the combined outlay of England’s top teams is just €425m (£365m), just over a third of the €1.27m (£1.09bn) committed last year.
Also conspicuous is the absence of really big-money deals, like the £100m-plus transfers of Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice last summer. On average this window, the average fee paid is down from €22.2m (£19m) to €16.3m (£14m).
Insiders believe the trends are a combination of two factors: financial constraints as a result of the Premier League’s toughened stance on profitability and sustainability rules (PSRs), and the disruption to business caused by Euro 2024 and, to some extent, the Olympic Games.
“A few clubs went very early in the window. The PSR clubs did what they had to do,” says one industry source.
Teams who considered themselves at risk of failing PSR requirements had to wheel and deal before 30 June, most clubs’ financial year end. Notable transfers wrapped up before July included Aston Villa’s £35m signing of Netherlands defender Ian Maatsen.
At the same time, the involvement of dozens of potential transfer targets at Euro for most of June and some of July has also hit trading. To a lesser extent, the Olympic Games, where a number of Premier League players have been in action, has affected business.
Now that footballers have returned from post-Euros holidays and the Olympics is almost over, however, there are signs that the market is warming up. Julian Alvarez delayed a decision on his future until after the Games but has now agreed a move to Atletico Madrid.
“Even though the transfer window started weeks ago, it hasn’t really got going. I expect that to change,” said a source. “I think there will be a flurry of late activity. In my opinion it will get busy in mid-August. Lots of clubs are waiting for dominoes to fall.”
Champions City and runners-up Arsenal have made just one signing apiece, but the former may buy to replace Alvarez and the latter remain linked with attacking players. Liverpool are yet to sign anyone but are reported to want Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon.
Elsewhere, the picture is more complicated. Clubs in the Bundesliga and Serie A have been bolder in the market but in Spain and France business has been muted. Like its big brother, the EFL Championship has been slower to spend than usual.
The Saudi Pro League was the second biggest spender after the Premier League last summer – and a catalyst for spending elsewhere, as generous transfer fees allowed clubs more scope to trade – but they have reined in their largesse, and the knock-on effect has been evident.