Despicable Deadline Day

Transfer deadline day: the simple ending of a period of time when clubs can sign players, morphed into a great wobbling and spewing behemoth getting squeezed dry like a giant sponge by Sky Sports.

A day when most decisions are probably going to be bad ones, when logic is hurled out of the window as panic creeps in through the door.

As is tradition in recent transfer markets, Manchester United made a fool of themselves. A botched signing of Jadon Sancho turned into paying £10 million to the brother of Edinson Cavani for the privilege of having the 33 year old Uruguayan sign a bit of paper that will entitle him to millions of pounds.

Not to be too harsh on the Red Devils, though, with the signing of Alex Telles bringing some much needed competition at left back. Then there is the signing of young prospect Facundo Pellistri and agreement for Amad Diallo in January, both of whom appear to be good long term options.

But simply by being deals done on deadline day makes them seem panicky and in true United fashion, will probably have resulted in the prices being ramped up. It has just become an expectation for selling clubs that they will bleed cash from the United ‘war chest’.

The Red Devils were joined at the top of the Premier League deadline day incomings table by Fulham, another club who have been seen to fall on their backsides during recent transfer markets.

After a full Premier League season in 2018/19 and the first few weeks of the current one, it seems to have miraculously only just become clear that maybe Tim Ream isn’t quite up to top flight standard.

They closed in on the signings of young centre backs Tosin Adarabioyo and Joachim Andersen to bolster their defensive options. Both have decent pedigree, Adarabioyo having come through Manchester City’s academy and spending time on loan in the Championship, while Andersen arrives on loan from Lyon having already featured in Ligue 1, Serie A and the Eredivisie.

But both arrive with that deadline day murkiness, a sense of panic and ‘is this who we really wanted’? Something that won’t have been helped by the Cottagers’ owner tweeting his disappointment at not having already signed a centre back. Another blow for poor Ream.

Deadline day just screams of panic and lack of preparation. Especially after such a lengthy transfer window.

Surely transfers should be thought through, have the player’s pros and cons analysed and a decision made of how they will fit into the team? Then are they worth the money, will someone else need to be shipped out to make way and do they have a personality that will fit with the team and manager?

These things cannot feasibly all be considered with just a few hours left to make a signing.

Of course, there will be exceptions. Perhaps a player has been targeted all summer, but the finances of the transfer took till the last minute to slog out. Or maybe a club might just hit lucky.

But generally, it’s a not a good look to be shipping in players frantically at the last minute. It looks desperate, and leaves you wide open to being ripped off.

But the chaos continues and is graciously lapped up by various media outlets. Most years it feels very crass, but particularly this year given the financial struggles of not only lower league football, but across basically every other industry.

Deadline day is a tasteless circus, with tragic clowns taking centre stage as people laugh at and not with them.