Why deadline day proved an anti-climatic affair

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  • Early business: Wilfried Bony joined Manchester City more than two weeks ago.

    When Robert Huth and Yakubu are the two biggest (and not just in terms of frame) movers, you’ve know it’s been a quiet deadline day.

    With last night curiously missing the frenetic spending and rumours of previous windows, here are some reasons for the relative inactivity.

    Clubs are learning

    Buying on deadline day in winter doesn’t imply any long-term planning, it tends to reveal blind panic, hence why it’s either relegation threatened clubs or those grossly under-performing who tend to get involved.

    Due to the hysteria, players are over-priced and overrated and clubs scratch around for whoever they can get, rather than who they necessarily need. It’s a lottery.

    Kevin Kempl was one of many players to have secured moves early in the transfer window.

    Most of the bigger deals in this window were completed at the beginning of the month: Wilfried Bony to Manchester City (January 14), Enzo Perez to Valencia (January 2) and Kevin Kampl to Borussia Dortmund (January 1). Seydou Doumbia arrived at Roma from CSKA Moscow relatively late (January 31) but that was motivated by Mattia Destro leaving to Milan on loan and an element of opportunism, due to the weakness of the rouble.

    It’s admirable that clubs, particularly in England, tend to be learning from previous mishaps (Fernando Torres being the daddy of them all) and are keeping their powder dry until the summer, when prices will be more realistic.

    Availability in the summer

    With clubs becoming reluctant to buy in January, they’d also rather sell in June, July or August than half-way through a campaign as such disruption could have serious ramifications on a season.

    Aymeric Laporte (l) has been linked with a move away from Athletic Bilbao.

    Unlike January, which presents a club with a maximum of four weeks to cover any departures, the summer window is a relatively stress-free three months to reinforce.

    Marcos Reus is destined to leave Dortmund this summer with his €25 million (Dh104m) release clause. BVB, theoretically, could have got more now, but with a relegation battle to fight, and Champions League football to contest, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City and the rest will have to wait.

    Edinson Cavani is also unsettled at PSG and likely to be on the move, but the French giants are lagging in the Ligue 1 title race and it would represent a huge risk to sell the Uruguayan striker.

    Athletic Bilbao’s young centreback Aymeric Laporte is another staying put as his €30m + valuation looks to have put suitors off at this stage, given the likely amount of time he’ll need to integrate to a new league. It just seems more sensible to spend that sort of money on a 20-year-old in pre-season. 

    At present there will also be a raft of tempting free transfers available this summer – Sami Khedira, James Milner, Andre Ayew, Dani Alves, Yevhen Konoplyanka are all out of contract – which is sure to have influenced policy.

    Financial Fair Play bites

    UEFA are cracking down on clubs which overspend with their Financial Fair Play policy.

    Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have had their wings clipped by UEFA and despite their protests it has clearly had an effect, given the relatively modest spends – compared to previous windows – by both clubs since the summer.

    But it’s not only City and PSG who are under scrutiny. Liverpool, Monaco, Inter and Roma are among seven clubs being investigated by UEFA based on the financial year 2012-13, with concerns over their spending during that period against revenues.

    It’s easy to mock UEFA and claim they don’t go after the ‘big clubs’ but the €60m fines (€40m suspended) imposed on City and PSG, plus the squad reductions have sent a warning.

    City and PSG are two clubs who can absorb such heavy punishments but for the above quartet, such sanctions would significantly damage their ability in the market.

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