Transfer window woes

The transferwindow brings with it some of the most exciting and complicated moments of thesummer for a football fan.

Transfer dealsevolve and develop over time, with players, agents and numerous teams ofteninvolved. They all contribute to make a window exciting and unpredictable.

This summer,several high-profile players have been linked with moves, including Spursmidfielder Christian Eriksen and Manchester United’s Paul Pogba.

Liverpool’s SadioMane was linked with a move to Real Madrid, whilst Manchester City’s Leroy Sanewas believed to be a target for Bayern Munich before he tore his ACL.

The transfer window always produces fascinating situations, some of which we examine here.

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Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale is oneof the world’s best paid players and a move this summer to Chinese side JiangsuSuning would have cemented that status further. They had a deal lined up forthe former Spurs forward thought to be worth £1m a week.

He’s been frozenout by new Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane, making a Bernabéu exit highlylikely. However, his move to China collapsed as Florentino Pérez, the presidentof Real, decided he wanted a transfer fee for the 30-year-old.

Bale been linkedwith moves to Manchester United and Spurs in the past, but his huge wages are astumbling block for any club looking to sign him. He’s been impressive duringhis time in Madrid and at 30-years-old he still has plenty to offer.

Bale has scored102 times for Real in 231 appearances but looks unlikely to be a key part oftheir squad this season, even if a move doesn’t materialise.

Neymar

Exciting Braziliansuperstar Neymar was the talk of the transfer window in August 2017 as he madea world-record £198m move from Barcelona to Paris Saint Germain in France. Hescored 105 goals in 186 outings for the Catalan giants before his move.

Two years later,he’s desperate to force a move back to Spain with both Real Madrid and Barcalooking to bring him back to La Liga, he’s so desperatethat he’s refusing to play for PSG. He’s been training on his own and has nottaken part in their pre-season tour of China.

It’s a huge blowto French side, who had hoped to keep him at the club as they chase ChampionsLeague glory. The talented Brazilian has his mind set on a move back to Spainand will go to any lengths to force it through.

It comes as somesurprise that the two parties are willing to discuss a move; Barcelona sued theattacker following his departure in 2017.

Still only27-years-old, the flamboyant forward is at the pinnacle of his career and withan impressive goal return wherever he plays, it seems his past indiscretionswill be put to one side in order to complete a move.

Laurent Koscielny

33-year-old centreback Laurent Koscielny made 353 appearances for Arsenal during a nine-year stayat the Emirates, but decided he wanted to leave them this summer.

He served the clubdiligently under Arsene Wenger, winning three FA Cups, but chose to force amove following his mentor’s departure. This comes despite finishing as a EuropaLeague runner up under Unai Emery, losing to Chelsea in his final game for theclub.

Koscielny,Arsenal’s captain, refused to take part in their pre-season tour of the UnitedStates after they turned down his request for his contract to be terminated.That left him at war with the club he called home for almost a decade.

He was stripped ofthe captaincy before securing a move to Bordeaux, where he angered Arsenal fansby tearing off their shirt to reveal the colours of his new club during hisunveiling video.

His actions havecast a huge shadow over his Arsenal career, spoiling what should have been afine legacy thanks to his longevity and previous commitment to the Gunners.

Saido Berahino

The young strikerwas hot property in the summer of 2015, having scored 20 goals in 45appearances for Premier League side West Brom. That had alerted several topEnglish clubs, with Spurs putting in a bid for his services.

West Brom wantedto hang on to their prized asset and rejected the initial bid. Spurs came backwith three more offers, all were rejected.

Berahino, hisheart set on a switch, decided to take matters into his own hands; he tweetedthat he would never play for the club again, personally attacking the chairmanJeremy Peace.

The Baggies heldfirm and he was forced to stay at the Hawthorns. Newcastle Spurs and Stoke allexpressed an interest in him the following January, but his prolific record hadtailed off.

He was sent to atraining camp by the Baggies after becoming 8lbs overweight, something heattributed to the transfer saga. He claimed the situation had made himdepressed, leading to his lack of fitness.

He did eventuallyget a move, joining Stoke City for £12m in January 2017. He scored just fivetimes in three years for the Potters before having his contract terminated bymutual consent.

Peter Odemwingie

Perhaps the mostfamous of all deadline day deals that didn’t go ahead was that of Nigerianstriker Peter Odemwingie in 2013.

After two seasonswith West Brom, Odemwingie decided he wanted to leave the club. He handed in atransfer request days before the deadline, which was rejected. This promptedhim to launch into a rant on social media, accusing the club of ‘reaching intohis pocket’ by preventing his move.

On deadline day hewas thought to be on his way to Queens Park Rangers. He drove from the Midlandsto Loftus Road to finalise the deal, but was refused entry to the ground afterit emerged they had no interest in signing him; all of this was caught by thetelevision cameras.

One of the mostmemorable images of any transfer window is that of Odemwingie outside LoftusRoad, surrounded by a scrum of photographers as he turned around and made thelong, embarrassing journey back up to the Hawthorns.

He was fined bythe club and used sparingly as a substitute for the rest of the season.

Odemwingie finallyleft West Brom in the following summer, later playing for Cardiff, Stoke andRotherham United.

Conclusion

The transferwindow is great for supporters, but for the clubs involved it can be anightmare. Players wanting to force moves can be disruptive and often bids comein at the eleventh hour, causing panic late on as players must be replaced.

With the amount ofmoney in the modern game and agents always looking to engineer moves for theirclients, the circus of the transfer window will only continue to enthrall,disrupt and entertain in the coming years.