5 common mistakes every big club makes in the transfer window
The football transfer window is loved and loathed in equal measure by fans and managers of clubs across the globe as they eagerly await the arrival of new players and at the same time fear losing their best players.
Rumour mills go into overdrive as player agents talk up their clients’ potential to make merry out of the prevailing confusion. Most of the talked about stories remain just that but every transfer window throws up a few signings that are completely out of the blue.
In the modern era where player loyalty has gone for a toss and money pours into the game like never before, the transfer window is proving to be a busy time for all clubs, with many hoping to see the back of it as soon as it begins.
By virtue of a bigger transfer chest and with the constant need to upgrade the squad continuously, the big clubs do much more business than their smaller rivals but it is hard to predict how well the moves turn out to be in the future. While some prove to be game changers, some leave those associated with the clubs scratching their heads.
Here are five common mistakes that every big club makes in the transfer window.
#1 Overspending
With the influx of foreign owners and the ever increasing media rights money, clubs have not refrained from spending huge amounts to get the players they desire, with the record for transfer fees getting broken with every season.
Debates open up every time there is a big money move and it is hard to come to a definitive conclusion as to whether the club did the right thing as with case of Paul Pogba, with even the Manchester United faithful divided in their opinion as to whether he is worth the world-record fee that the Red Devils paid Juventus.
However, with the amount of money at their disposal in the modern day, the big clubs have generally overpaid and stretched their budget to try and maintain their status quo in their league. The smaller clubs know that they can bargain to the very last penny and with little option left, the bigger clubs, more often than not, end up paying more than they would have desired.
It is not necessary that a club pay huge money for a single player as was the case with Tottenham Hotspur following the then world-record transfer of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid. Spurs simply didn’t know what to do with the money and in their bid to push themselves higher up the league, ended up dishing out too much for average players.