This time last year, Chelsea bought Mykhailo Mudryk for £62 million, Liverpool bought Hakpo for £37 million, Arsenal signed Trossal for £21 million, and the Blues were still in the final moments06.8 billion smashed Enzo, and the Premier League burned 8 in a winter window£1.5 billion, a big historical record. Now, the winter window will close in two days this season, and the 20 Premier League teams together have spent less than 50 million. Among the strong teams, only Tottenham is active, with 25 million in Dele Guhin, plus loan to Timo Werner.
The Premier League's net spending in the winter window in recent years.
Among the many factors that contributed to the cold winter, fiscal equity was the most prominent. January coincided with a pivotal juncture in the Premier League's financial fairness (for-profit and sustainability rules) assessment: the day before the window opened, on 31 December, the deadline for teams to submit their accounts for the previous quarter, and on 15 January, the Premier League announced the results of the assessment and charged the offending teams.
An agent who owns several Premier League players under his portfolio said the teams were now like "schools for the jury", full of anxiety and tension and "not functioning properly". Many FFP teams have to wait for the results of the assessment on the 15th, and even if they know that they have passed the review, they do not want to invest immediately, after all, the maximum amount of FFP is still tight. Two weeks ago, the Premier League's accusations against Nottingham Forest and Everton, who had already been penalized, made teams nervous because they found out that the Premier League was serious. A scout at a Premier League club lamented that "I have never experienced a transfer window where everyone is scared by the financial rules. ”
In terms of demand, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Aston Villa, and Arsenal all want to achieve their season goals through winter window supplements, but they all do not move. Arteta lamented: "It's one thing we need to be able to do it, it's another thing to be able to do it. ”
Then, considering that the teams are reluctant to let go of talent in the winter window, buyers must pay a premium to impress each other, and the willingness of each team to invest is even more sluggish. The fiscal year ends on June 30, and after that day, there should be quite a few teams opening the valves.
At present, there are voices questioning that the Premier League version of FFP should keep pace with the times. According to a recent Deloitte report, the 20 richest clubs in Europe increased their revenues by 14% last season, so they must lose more than 1Should the £0.5 billion limit also be raised?
There are also some interesting detail factors. For example, if there is no competitor, it is difficult to buy people. In the 2022 winter window, Liverpool waited for Tottenham's 37 million** against Dias to be accepted by Porto before intercepting it with the same grade**. Liverpool believe that many European teams impose a "Liverpool tax" on them because many foreign players are eager to join Liverpool. So, the Red Army uses Tottenham as bait, isn't Levy able to bargain, there is a "price thorn" in the world, there is a "price thorn", he will cut it first, and when he cuts it well, we can match this **. But now, without the "price thorn", business is not negotiable.
In addition, the relegation situation this season is relatively clear, the bottom 3 teams lag behind more, and most of the small and medium-sized teams have little pressure to relegate, which also causes them to be less willing to invest. The increase in injuries this season, coupled with the impact of the AFCDA and Asian Cup draws, has led to many teams being overstretched and reluctant to sell marginal players, which is certainly not conducive to promoting player circulation.