Sport

Transfer Deadline Day chaos exposes the dangers of leaving it late

Transfer Deadline Day is the purest example of what modern football has become. Not only does it perfectly encapsulate the issue of a growing financial disparity within the game, but also the drifting of how central the sport itself is to consumption.

For some, watching players move from club to club is entertainment in itself, and that is how the entire notion of Deadline Day as an event developed.

Most of the time, the style is more compelling than the substance. But on Tuesday, a number of Premier League clubs learnt a valuable lesson; leaving business until late in the window can be great for content and media, but isn’t a good idea in practical terms.

Sunderland, who had a great season last year, reaching Europe having been among the divisions busiest clubs, had only brought in a free transfer before their attempts to sign Belgian winger Malick Fofana from Lyon in a £30m deal late on.

All seemed agreed before Crystal Palace attempted to hijack, with their coach Pierre Sage, who worked with Fofana at the French club, contacting the 21-year-old in a bid to persuade him to move to Selhurst Park.

What followed was pure Deadline Day, so much so it bordered on cliché. Fofana was reportedly sat in Lyon airport undecided on his future, with two private jets on standby waiting to take him to the club of his choice. His agents were in constant negotiations and he had his medical in France, with the results usable for whichever option he chose. There was a classic tug of war all day, one that Sunderland eventually won, but had they acted earlier, could have avoided completely.

At Everton, Monaco Folarin Balogun spent the day at their training ground ahead of a move, in part sanctioned by the departures of Beto and Iliman Ndiaye. The Toffees needed a striker and thought they had their man, but after an issue with the medical, attempted to look elsewhere for options, including a reported loan offer for Manchester United outcast Joshua Zirkzee.

After that failed, they attempted to renegotiate terms with Monaco and Balogun, who rejected the move after, it has been said, he was left unhappy with his treatment.

“Clearly, we were open to discussing and finding a transfer for Balogun,” Monaco Sporting Director Thiago Scuro told BBC Sport.

“We had a clear agreement for Balogun to go to Everton. Balogun flew yesterday morning to complete his medical and sign a contract.

“At 16:00, Balogun was in Liverpool completing his medical. Everything was going pretty well. Around 19:00 we were contacted by Everton, who raised concerns about Balogun’s medical. For our medical staff and for the player’s personal medical staff, there was no sense in those concerns. The explanations were not enough to justify any concerns about the player’s future or health.

“Basically, Balogun’s position was, ‘I’m not feeling comfortable with the way the club treated me. I’m not comfortable with the doubts raised about my future or my health. I have no issue, so I’m not comfortable signing a contract here.’”

It isn’t hard to understand why Balogun wasn’t comfortable. Transfers are delicate situations, but at their heart they are about making people feel wanted. Everton’s approach that day seemed desperate and not well thought out, which again it may well have been had there been no imminent threat to the deal in terms of timeframe.

With Enzo Fernandez heading to Manchester City, Chelsea needed a midfielder and they had earmarked Lamine Camara, Balogun’s Monaco team-mate. That deal collapsed as a domino effect following the Balogun saga, meaning Chelsea, like Everton, are short in key positions.

Recruitment has a direct correlation with success but not simply in terms of signing good players. Timing and organisation is just as important, and it is hard to remember many deals on Deadline Day having a positive impact. Here are just three examples from this year alone which demonstrate the negative.

Football is becoming content and that is not a good thing. Transfer Deadline Day is evidence of both cause and effect. Clubs need to be better organised and avoid big deals during the circus, because more often than not, they regret it.