It has been a relatively quiet summer transfer window so far as there is always a late spurt as clubs accept more realistic valuations for their players or decide there is a gap in their squad they must fill. However, in 2007 165 players moved to top flight clubs, a figure that fell to about 130 last year. There have been fewer than 60 arrivals so far this year so the total is likely to fall well short of that for last year.
It has been a relatively quiet summer transfer window so far as there is always a late spurt as clubs accept more realistic valuations for their players or decide there is a gap in their squad they must fill. However, in 2007 165 players moved to top flight clubs, a figure that fell to about 130 last year. There have been fewer than 60 arrivals so far this year so the total is likely to fall well short of that for last year.
Wealthy teams have made lots of players available, for example Manchester City have about a dozen players to move on. However, there is a shortage of buyers as other clubs find themselves short of money. The standstill in the British economy is starting to hit football.
One way out is the loan deal, increasingly combined with a wages subsidy. Manchester City has been trying to recoup fees and not pay a wages subsidy, but that us hardly likely to attract interest when Emmanuel Adebayor earns £175,000 a week and Wayne Bridge around £90,000.
Although television revenues remain buoyant, and other sources of income have not been hit that hard by the recession, Everton and Blackburn Rovers have been hit by the bank reducing their overdraft facility. Aston Villa invested substantially in players to try and qualify for the Champions League. However, that strategy failed and the club were left with a £37m loss in March and consequent restraint on spending.