Rivals scramble for strikers in unprecedented summer

A Club World Cup, Saudi money, PSR and demand for No 9s - the transfer window will be frantic

- Miguel Delaney

Over the three days around the Champions League final in Munich, in hotels like the £900-a-night Rosewood, a number of intense meetings were taking place. Security was tight, agents and club representatives were trying to find secluded corners.

They were so close to the transfer window that a certain discretion was needed. At least one big deal was struck.

For some in football, the regular season’s games have stopped so the real business begins. A strand of modern fans might feel the same. They are likely to be very engaged over the next few months, because there is going to be a lot of activity.

This summer window is already unique in how we have an extra mini-window. The imposition of Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s expanded Club World Cup has necessitated a new market spell up until the tournament, which begins on 14 June. While it has already seen Trent Alexander-Arnold go to Real Madrid in a £10m move that is no longer a Bosman, that is expected to be about the height of it. Cristiano Ronaldo is now staying at Al-Nassr, even if many in the game still openly wonder whether a way will be found to get him in Fifa’s new showpiece tournament before it starts.

That seems far-fetched right now. As it is, only minor deals are expected. This is because clubs are still more concerned about getting best value for targets rather than getting them in now. The Club World Cup isn’t that important to them, despite how Infantino speaks about it.

A far greater consideration for value is what the new PSR (profit and sustainability rules) world has done, and that it might be affected by this tournament. Those clubs who go the distance at the Club World Cup are going to win close to $100m (£74m). That might create market waves in the final weeks of the window.