Sport
Is the 2021 transfer window an opportunity for small clubs?
Perhaps somewhat predictably after the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the major clubs in Europe face a balancing act when it comes to finances in the 2021 transfer window. Indeed, even the most monied, state-backed outfits look as if they’re in a position where they must sell before they can buy.
Manchester City, for example, are reportedly looking to raise £70m from their fringe (yes, fringe) players in an effort to bring the likes of Jack Grealish and Harry Kane to the Eithad Stadium this summer. Chelsea, meanwhile, could be looking to do something similar amid their dreams of integrating Erling Haaland into their Champions League-winning side.
Over to Spain, the laughable financial mismanagement of Real Madrid and Barcelona means that 2021 is the year in which they have to shift some of their terrible investments to try and restore former glories in this transfer window. Just as they sign David Alaba and Sergio Aguero on money-spinning contracts. Ridiculous.
Still, this is where those who weren’t invited to join the grotesque European Super League come in. The teams at the top (and Arsenal) seem to feel as though their unwanted players aren’t good enough to play for them but are still determined to charge an extortionate fee tp those below them who are happy to swoop in and take them off of their hands.
Clearly, in some cases, they might be worth the money but, for the most part, the upwardly-mobile teams on the continent to have upset the apple cart don’t need these cast-offs. The likes of Leicester City, Atalanta, Lille, Sevilla and RB Leipzig have all built their success on astute recruitment policies, on joined-up thinking and with a specific footballing philosophy.
That’s not to suggest that there aren’t wealthy backers among that group with the kind of resources which only a few people in the world can match, nor that they are all rags-to-riches stories. However, with football proving so unpalatable of late, at least their operations don’t leave quite as bad a taste in the mouth.
With the Premier League slapping their breakaway clubs with what is, in essence, a very light fine and UEFA seemingly unlikely to punish Madrid, Barcelona or Juventus in any meaningful way, the 2021 transfer window is the chance clubs who weren’t invited to the party can get their revenge.
Of course, suggesting they shouldn’t do deals with the ESL mafia out of sheer principle is wishful thinking (life just doesn’t work that way) but, clearly, they are in a strong position. The big clubs need to start selling to balance the books and rebuild. They’ve wasted too much money for too long and their desperation, along with the pandemic, led them to one of the most controversial plans in the history of the game.
The 2021 transfer window is the time to strike. Naturally, there are a number of talented players who will need to leave in order to free up money elsewhere, leading to some potentially great deals this summer, akin to that of the one that saw James Rodriguez join Everton on a free transfer.
If, in all their wisdom, the ESL teams refuse to sell, a raft of these stars will be left sitting on their big contracts, sapping their employer’s already depleted resources and serving as a reminder of their ridiculous decisions. For once, those below have the power.
They can choose whether or not to make life easier for the big clubs. Either try to improve your squad with outcasts at elite level or leave them to rot in their gold prisons. Given all we know about how those who feel they are at the top operate, this is unlikely to happen again. Drink it in, enjoy it, savour the moment.
Projects like the European Super League will come again. A slight shift in power won’t. The 2021 transfer window is the time to act. Perhaps then, they won’t have it so easy.
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