‘The pressure is permanent’: a football agent on January’s transfer window

From tricky contract negotiations to players being economic with the truth: one agent reveals the ins and outs of doing a deal

The midwinter transfer window is an ‘emergency’ window. It is an opportunity for clubs to patch up a problem rather than find long-term solutions and can also be a difficult time to undertake business given prices soar. A few years ago, £15m might have bought pedigree. These days it could secure a Premier League side a promising right-back from a lower-ranked Bundesliga club. Yet, in what is a cut-throat environment for both clubs and agents, desperation drives the market and deals will be done.

As well as representing individual players, I have been registered as an FA intermediary for most of the last seven years – barring a brief spell when I concentrated on developing commercial agreements with some clients – and it is in that capacity that the January window will keep me busy, most obviously helping to bring players to England. The intermediary’s role is that of a facilitator whose contacts, knowledge or even language skills might benefit sporting directors in this country or agents based overseas.

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