Foolish clubs will pay after voting for this transfer farce
JACk WILSHERE is wanted by West Ham and Fenerbahce. As of this morning, Fenerbahce have got 56 days to complete the deal; West Ham 34. That was a smart move, wasn’t it?
England’s transfer window closes on August 9 this season, earlier than the rest of Europe. Unsurprisingly, the Premier League clubs are repenting over this foolish decision — and not at leisure, either. It is like the Wild West out there right now, as clubs, players and agents panic to get their business done. This was always going to happen.
A little self-control could have solved the problem of players being poached after the season had started, an agreement between domestic clubs could have stopped the chaos and a simple ‘no’ would have dealt with Europe.
Instead, the clubs decided they couldn’t be trusted not to do the dirty on each other and put rules in place forbidding activity beyond an arbitrary early deadline. Now they are alarmed by the consequences. It really would take a heart of stone not to laugh.
West Ham’s David Gold voted for it so cannot complain now his club is confronted with the reality of a bad choice. Fenerbahce’s offer is, by all accounts, highly lucrative. Wilshere would be paid a lot of money to play in Turkey, probably more than West Ham want to pay. And Wilshere has options, so can afford to wait.
Fenerbahce have options so can bide their time, too. If Wilshere (right) rejects them, they have got the rest of August to find a replacement. The only party that is in a rush; that is against a punishing deadline; that may have to pay through the nose to get its business done is West Ham. And they are not alone.
The nervousness that will be felt in east London will be replicated throughout the Premier League. If a foreign player is the target or a foreign club is the rival suitor the English buyer is at a selfinflicted disadvantage.
Ed Woodward at Manchester United is often decried as not the finest operator in the market but he called this. United were one of five opposed to early closing when the vote was passed by Premier League clubs in September (the Football League, always open to a poor idea, followed suit).
Manchester City, Crystal Palace, Watford and Swansea were the other naysayers, meaning Chelsea were also in favour of a shorter window. This is a club that, with a month and three days of the transfer window remaining, still does not know its manager. Shrewd.
It is presumed Maurizio Sarri will be Antonio Conte’s successor and it is presumed that, behind the scenes, Chelsea have been busy lining up his transfer targets. But foreign coaches often want foreign players and foreign players often have options in foreign leagues. Meaning Sarri’s men are in no hurry to decide their future. Some may be involved at the World Cup until mid-July. Then they will want to go on holiday. Remember Manchester United’s pursuit of Paul Pogba? It was conducted against a backdrop of Instagram photographs from various millionaires’ playgrounds. United were made to sweat, made to go higher and higher on personal terms and agents’ fees. How is a rapidly closing window going to address that?
English clubs will pay more, not less. Ever bought so much as a used dish towel on eBay? As time slips, the price does not fall.
And English clubs knew this. They had seen the madness even with a deadline that closed in early September. They had seen how much business was concluded at the last minute: the ludicrous footage of Leicester officials chasing around with pieces of paper at midnight; the deals that made it by seconds; the ones that failed.
The staggering absence of selfawareness in the club vote was startling. They think they are slick operators, these guys. They do not appreciate how ludicrous their machinations appear to the rest of the world. Daniel Levy is credited with being a top operator and the driver of a hard, invariably late, bargain. Yet while Tottenham grind slowly into gear at the start of every season, inevitably conceding ground to an early leader, how smart is he really? And how risible were Leicester’s
complaints on missing the deadline for Adrien Silva by 14 seconds, having had all summer to complete his signing?
These aren’t the kings of brinkmanship. Yet Tottenham and Leicester were also supporters of the August 9 cut-off. Cue much moaning about faulty fax machines on August 10. English clubs can, of course, sell after the deadline. Meaning, while replacements cannot be bought, foreign clubs can still attempt late raids.
TAkE Thibaut Courtois, who has spent this World Cup fluttering his eyelashes at Real Madrid. He may still be a transfer target after August 9 and all that will have changed is Chelsea’s capacity to replace him. They can say ‘no’ of course, but they could anyway, even with the window open until August 31.
Yet if Courtois plays up to get his move, if he claims an undiagnosed back injury, or sinks into depression caused by separation from his family, Chelsea have no options but to keep saying no and hope Willy Caballero is a better goalkeeper than he has looked out here. And that is precisely the chaos they voted for, so good luck with it.