Everything you need to know about football transfers

Angel Di Maria’s £59.7m move from Real Madrid to Manchester United made him the most expensive player signed in English football historyWhen the football season ends, fans have nothing to look forward to but the transfer window as they scour through newspapers and online media outlets to see which players will be sold and bought. As clubs prepare to offload underperforming or senior players and bring in new stars or young talents, millions and millions of pounds or euros exchange hands during the specified window.But questions do come up on how such transactions take place and the process behind buying and selling players. We take a look at a few common queries football fans have on football transfers.

#1 When does the transfer window open and close?

Transfer Deadline Day is probably the most exciting day for fans during the off-season

As is common knowledge, there are two transfer windows in a calendar year. The winter transfer window is open from January 1st to January 31st. But it is possible that it can be extended by a day or two depending on whether 31st January is a weekend or falls on a bank holiday. The same applies for the summer transfer window as well.

However, the summer transfer window opens and closes on different dates in different countries. The official dates for the summer transfer window in the top European leagues are between July 1st and August 31st. But In England, clubs are allowed to transfer players within the league as soon as the season is over.

Though deals are agreed between clubs, they are not official until July 1st as a player’s contract at a club normally runs till June 30th. The window closes on August 31st (or the first working day in September) so teams can finalize their squads for the European competitions before the UEFA deadline.

#2 How does a club identify a player?

Arsene Wenger and his team of scouts are known to unearth and sign young talent across Europe

Many elite clubs identify their targets a year in advance and would have completed the necessary research required before submitting a bid. First and foremost, their talent on the pitch is judged. In the case of youngsters, scouts from various clubs watch the player over a season and determine whether they can make the step up to their team.

Once a number of players are identified, their off-field activities are put under the microscope. Clubs employ people who investigate everything there is to a player’s personal life by talking to his teammates and family and try to uncover anything from their past which may have an adverse effect on their future.

Even if the player is ‘dynamite’ on the pitch, clubs may pass on the chance to sign him if he is infamous for his off-field activities (example: smoking, drinking, partying until the wee hours of the morning).

However, there are cases when even if the club gives the red light, managers have the final say and decide that it is a necessary trade-off to give their team that much more of an advantage on the pitch.

#3 How does a club go about buying a player?

Wayne Rooney’s contract extension made him the highest earning player in England with reported wages of £300,000 per week

Clubs looking to sign a player simply can’t approach a player and ask him to sign for them. That is illegal and can even lead to transfer bans. A certain process is to be followed if they want his signature. And with all contracted players, the process doesn’t even start with the concerned player.

Example: Chelsea want to sign Wayne Rooney from Manchester United

1) Chelsea must first get in touch with Manchester United regarding the transfer. If United do not want to sell, the matter ends there. Or does it? More often than not, if a player wants to leave and the club is unwilling to sell, one of two courses of action are pursued.

Stories are “leaked to the media” by the player’s agent claiming he is unhappy at the club and is looking for a move away. This is meant to create unrest in the squad and convince the manager that he is better off without the player and should cash in when he has the chance.

The player submits an official transfer request and the club does all they can to retain him. Players generally use this ruse to improve their current contract (which worked perfectly in Rooney’s case as he became the highest-earning player in England with reports emerging of the England captain earning £300,000 per week.

Normally, nowadays no deal goes ahead if the player does not wish to move. Which is why agents are an important piece of the puzzle for clubs to ascertain the player’s mindset before making a bid – lest it blows up in their face if the player decides to reject them.

And according to the rules, 'a player under contract shall not directly or indirectly make any approach to another club without having obtained the prior written consent of the existing club to who he is contracted.'

2) If United are looking to sell, they can set the transfer fee as high as they like (unless the player has a release clause in his contract).

3) Only if Chelsea meet the asking price can they go to the next step – meet the player and convince him to join them. United gives the go-ahead to allow Chelsea to meet Rooney’s representatives.

A medical is the biggest sign that the player is sure to put pen to paper on a contract at the buying club

4) If Chelsea give Rooney a contract and wages he agrees to, all that is left is a medical to ensure Rooney is fit enough to play for Chelsea for the duration of the contract.

5) Once all parties have reached an agreement on transfer fee, bonuses, player wages and agent fees (usually a percentage of the fees paid), only then can the transfer finally take place.

#4 Can a player be signed outside the transfer window?

Robert Lewandowski signed a pre-contract with Bayern Munich before joining them in the summer of 2014

Yes. There are many cases when a club can sign one or more players outside the transfer window:

1) Free agents

A player not contracted to any club is a free agent. If a club has terminated his contract before the transfer window or if he has been released, he immediately becomes a free agent.

2) Agreeing pre-contracts: Bosman Ruling

The Bosman Ruling allows a player in the last six months of his contract to agree a pre-contract with a new club. HIs current club will receive no transfer fee in this case. This is how Robert Lewandowski completed a summer move from Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich as early as January 2014.

That is why clubs look to renew contracts of players or sell them for a good price when they have a year left on their current contract. They would rather make a profit than strengthen a direct rival for free.

3) Loan signings

The window to sign players on loan extends beyond the standard transfer window. And it does not apply to players outside the association, i.e. players from foreign clubs cannot be signed. For example, EPL clubs can send players out on loan to lower divisions after the summer transfer window closes. But they cannot sign players after they have announced their final squads until the January window.

In England, the loan window generally opens in the second week of September and closes on the fourth Thursday in November. This gives EPL clubs an opportunity to give their youngsters some minutes and experience on the pitch instead of warming the bench. These loans are usually between one month and three months long.

4) Emergency signings

Clubs can make emergency loan signings outside the transfer window under special circumstances. For example; if all the goalkeepers are out injured for a certain period of time, clubs can sign one on a temporary basis – if the association that oversees the league approves.

#5 Has the transfer window deadline ever been changed?

Andrei Arshavin’s Arsenal transfer was announced after the formal transfer deadline

Yes, but only under special circumstances. Normally, the last day of the month (31st January or 31st August) or the next available working day is transfer deadline day – the day when the most action takes place as clubs scramble to complete last minute deals. However, there have been cases when the deadline day was postponed.

For example; Arsenal actually announced the signing of Russian striker Andrei Arshavin 24 hours after the actual deadline. This was because the deadline was extended when a severe snowstorm on transfer deadline day hampered transport and delayed the registration process.

This year, too, the deadline is September 1st (because August 31st is a bank holiday), but the deadline was brought forward to 6 PM instead of the usual 11 PM. This was done to allow the top four clubs – Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United – to submit their final Champions League squads by the 11 PM deadline.