What is the procedure between clubs during transfer windows. How does it actually start?

[VancouverWolf]

Reading all the transfer news here and online, I realized I don’t know how clubs interact with each other and especially how they approach the other club regarding the player.
How are transfers started? I mean the initial approach and not the later involvement with accountants and lawyers.

Picking any player at random, in my example, say, MGW.
If a club , is very interested, what do they do first? What is expected among gentlemen, kind of thing?
Is it understood between clubs that the interested party should usually contact Wolves first or is it acceptable to contact MGW, ( or agent) directly?

If Jeff answers the phone from, say, Blackpool, and hears an offer for MGW, is he obliged to tell MGW or his agent? ,( even if he doesn’t want to sell)

But if he refuses and later MGW learns that Blackpool was prepared to pay him 35% more than he is currently earning, wouldn’t MGW be a tad annoyed at not being at least informed?

Or is it a free for all and normal protocol procedures are put aside?

Has anybody got some credible knowledge on this to share? Something more accurate than guessing,( heck, I can do that).

 

[azy]

This video should answer some of your questions.

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

Redirect Notice

www.google.co.uk

 

[John de Wolf's hairdryer]

How are transfers started? I mean the initial approach

Smoke signals? Morse code? Masonic handshakes? Does it really matter?

 

[VancouverWolf]

Smoke signals? Morse code? Masonic handshakes? Does it really matter?

Well thank you for your very diplomatic and sensitive reply.

 

[Aylesbury Wolf]

Smoke signals? Morse code? Masonic handshakes? Does it really matter?

I thought that was a perfectly sensible question which would generate some far more readable responses than much of the rubbish spouted on MM these days!

 

[those were the days]

So you want to know about the transfer window dance? Let me take you back to school days and try to explain.

Buying clubs and their representatives down one side of the room, selling clubs and their advisors down the other. Music starts. Nothing happens at all over the first half. Lots of chatter about the two rich kids from Manchester fancying x, y and z from London and Birmingham but who knows. Move into second half of proceedings. Representatives cross the floor and approach advisors before reporting back in huddles. Excited chatter and a few potential matches struck sealed by furtive glances and eyes met amd smiles struck from across the room. Enter the final straight now. Suddenly things start happening. A few clubs are crossing the floor by themselves. Brave stuff. Chelsea's struck again and Aston's onto his fourth dance already. Down to the final minutes now. Slow music on the way. It's all happening now as desperation creeps in. The floor is filling up and, amongst some of the obvious matchups, there are some unexpected ones too. Sean from Burnley is slow dancing with a big lass again. Crystal from South London is on the sidelines for the fourth dance running. Sad to see. Anyway hopefully you get the idea. Hope that helps explain.

 

[wolvesaywe]

So you want to know about the transfer window dance? Let me take you back to school days and try to explain.

Buying clubs and their representatives down one side of the room, selling clubs and their advisors down the other. Music starts. Nothing happens at all over the first half. Lots of chatter about the two rich kids from Manchester fancying x, y and z from London and Birmingham but who knows. Move into second half of proceedings. Representatives cross the floor and approach advisors before reporting back in huddles. Excited chatter and a few potential matches struck sealed by furtive glances and eyes met amd smiles struck from across the room. Enter the final straight now. Suddenly things start happening. A few clubs are crossing the floor by themselves. Brave stuff. Chelsea's struck again and Aston's onto his fourth dance already. Down to the final minutes now. Slow music on the way. It's all happening now as desperation creeps in. The floor is filling up and, amongst some of the obvious matchups, there are some unexpected ones too. Sean from Burnley is slow dancing with a big lass again. Crystal from South London is on the sidelines for the fourth dance running. Sad to see. Anyway hopefully you get the idea. Hope that helps explain.

I hope we get some better quality in than some of the ten to two-ers I had back in the day

 

[Ercall Wolves]

I hope we get some better quality in than some of the ten to two-ers I had back in the day

Mark Rankine always gave100%

 

[Supadavewolf]

When a mummy club and a daddy club love each other very much...

 

[those were the days]

I hope we get some better quality in than some of the ten to two-ers I had back in the day

Rest assured, Jeff from Wolvo has a good eye for the Portuguese ladies. He'll get his people to talk to their people and sort something out before the slow music starts. Cue Mendes talking to himself and setting up an intro. Option but not obligation to proceed with second dance depending how things go

 

[CodsallWolf]

The process is that everyone waits for Uncle Jorge to get in touch and tell us what we’re going to do.

 

[those were the days]

Thought I should give a less flippant reply too.

As it's been described to me by someone involved in player recruitment, some clubs looking to move players on will still submit a written list to target clubs, agents, etc. This tends to happen commonly at lower levels and for fringe and junior players especially. As you move up the football pyramid, top-level clubs tend to prefer doing this a bit more informally (especially for first team players with value). Once a formal or informal list is out and widely known, it's usually considered fine for the interested club to get in touch with the player's agent (if they have one) to figure out interest, salary demands etc. before engaging with the selling club.

Then there's the other side of the coin when a buying club is targeting someone the selling club isn't actively looking to sell and may or may not welcome an approach for. In theory, an approach should be made through the clubs before any further action happens but, in practice, rampant tapping up occurs. The buying club, through intermediaries, will often approach the agents or even the player directly and figure out a package that could work if a deal can be struck between the clubs. The player may even be encouraged to push for a move and the buying club's manager may even speak to the player which they shouldn't. I don't know whether this happened with Jota but I have my suspicions given Liverpool's previous with the likes of Van Dijk and Mane.

 

[old wittonian]

Well thank you for your very diplomatic and sensitive reply.

Lol

 

[Thank you Sir Jack]

Thought I should give a less flippant reply too.

As it's been described to me by someone involved in player recruitment, some clubs looking to move players on will still submit a written list to target clubs, agents, etc. This tends to happen commonly at lower levels and for fringe and junior players especially. As you move up the football pyramid, top-level clubs tend to prefer doing this a bit more informally (especially for first team players with value). Once a formal or informal list is out and widely known, it's usually considered fine for the interested club to get in touch with the player's agent (if they have one) to figure out interest, salary demands etc. before engaging with the selling club.

Then there's the other side of the coin when a buying club is targeting someone the selling club isn't actively looking to sell and may or may not welcome an approach for. In theory, an approach should be made through the clubs before any further action happens but, in practice, rampant tapping up occurs. The buying club, through intermediaries, will often approach the agents or even the player directly and figure out a package that could work if a deal can be struck between the clubs. The player may even be encouraged to push for a move and the buying club's manager may even speak to the player which they shouldn't. I don't know whether this happened with Jota but I have my suspicions given Liverpool's previous with the likes of Van Dijk and Mane.

Great response. I thought that your "flippant" reply was extremely funny.

 

[Thank you Sir Jack]

I hope we get some better quality in than some of the ten to two-ers I had back in the day

You have me there. What is a ten to two-er?

 

[rg4352]

Thought I should give a less flippant reply too.

As it's been described to me by someone involved in player recruitment, some clubs looking to move players on will still submit a written list to target clubs, agents, etc. This tends to happen commonly at lower levels and for fringe and junior players especially. As you move up the football pyramid, top-level clubs tend to prefer doing this a bit more informally (especially for first team players with value). Once a formal or informal list is out and widely known, it's usually considered fine for the interested club to get in touch with the player's agent (if they have one) to figure out interest, salary demands etc. before engaging with the selling club.

Then there's the other side of the coin when a buying club is targeting someone the selling club isn't actively looking to sell and may or may not welcome an approach for. In theory, an approach should be made through the clubs before any further action happens but, in practice, rampant tapping up occurs. The buying club, through intermediaries, will often approach the agents or even the player directly and figure out a package that could work if a deal can be struck between the clubs. The player may even be encouraged to push for a move and the buying club's manager may even speak to the player which they shouldn't. I don't know whether this happened with Jota but I have my suspicions given Liverpool's previous with the likes of Van Dijk and Mane.

Great summary.
With the links that Jorge has I believe more often than not he will be made aware of a clubs interest in the player, Jorge then gauges how open the selling club and player is to a move, and feeds back to the buying club what they would be looking for fee wise, if it looks doable then official talks usually start - this is what happened with Rui. It gets a bit nasty when the buying club makes contact directly with the player and urges them to push for a deal, without seemingly making an “official” approach to the club or the agent directly, who then should open up discussions with the club. Believe this is why PSG are so unhappy with Madrid currently over the Mbappe situation as an example.

 

[wolvesaywe]

You have me there. What is a ten to two-er?

It's an old club related phrase when they used to shut at 2am, whereby with the lights encroaching you'd make one last desperate attempt with a member of the opposite sex who was perhaps not of the finest vintage as they're more likely up for it..

The target in question is the ten to two-er. Rarely a compliment. Used by men and women so no sexism intended.

Who says the Mix isn't educational

 

[Leominster_Wolf]

You have me there. What is a ten to two-er?

the bird (or bloke) you pull at 1:50 in a nightclub because the pickings have got rather slim....

 

[VictorPyrrhic]

First you purchase a big brown envelope
Secondly you stuff it was as many dodgy £50 notes as you can get your hands on
Lastly you send it to the selling managers dog

 

[Sussex Wolf]

Redirect Notice

www.google.co.uk

Excellent article

 

[Thank you Sir Jack]

It's an old club related phrase when they used to shut at 2am, whereby with the lights encroaching you'd make one last desperate attempt with a member of the opposite sex who was perhaps not of the finest vintage as they're more likely up for it..

The target in question is the ten to two-er. Rarely a compliment. Used by men and women so no sexism intended.

Who says the Mix isn't educational

Thanks. I was usually well sorted out by then with some model.

 

[wolvesaywe]

Thanks. I was usually well sorted out by then with some model.

Conversely I was left marketing myself as a prospective ten-to-twoer

 

[The Clock]

In Wolves case, Jeff sends a letter by owl post to the Professor of the Dark Arts and he does the rest

 

[Thank you Sir Jack]

Thanks. I was usually well sorted out by then with some model.

Sorry, just to be clear, the model in question was Meccano or AirFix.

 

[VictorPyrrhic]

Shi rocks up with a suitcase full of spoons, a clock around his neck and a toddlers star light projector. He dims the lights and hands said player a kaleidoscope to get things going followed by thirty minutes of space and time reflections, bending spoons and whirling clocks as he sells said player 'the project'.

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

the bird (or bloke) you pull at 1:50 in a nightclub because the pickings have got rather slim....

Such was my rubbish technique in my yoof that my 10 to 2er was the exact same girl on a weekly basis. We used to laugh at seeing each other in the same club and say “see you at 10 to 2”. She was affectionately known to my friends as “bag lady” because as we’d leave the club she’d get her overnight bag from her friends car.

Randomly didn’t see her in about 17 years until a few years back I fell down the stairs and broke my leg as she was working reception at the hospital. Few awkward moments especially when the wife asked me how I knew her

 

[OLDGOLD]

the bird (or bloke) you pull at 1:50 in a nightclub because the pickings have got rather slim....

Or typically by then...not slim!

 

[WickedWolfie]

I hope we get some better quality in than some of the ten to two-ers I had back in the day

Picking up the waifs during the "erection section" is like going to the supermarket 30mins before closing to see what has been yellow tag reduced... Generally available (and cheap) for a reason....

In my misspent youth (and l wasn't much of a clubber) in Shropshire the brown bag or pints scale was applied... And don't even ask about a Nora...

 

[Thank you Sir Jack]

Shi rocks up with a suitcase full of spoons, a clock around his neck and a toddlers star light projector. He dims the lights and hands said player a kaleidoscope to get things going followed by thirty minutes of space and time reflections, bending spoons and whirling clocks as he sells said player 'the project'.

I'd check the mushrooms you had for your breakfast. Could have been a dodgy batch.
(Love a dose of whimsy)