Whilst the transfer market so far this summer has been dominated by a few clubs and those taking part in the Club World Cup, all that may be about to change.
That is because of the significance of July 1st.
It is the date that those out of contract officially become free agents. They can now move to another club without a transfer fee involved, although some of them can look forward to a healthy signing on bonus.
And it also signals the start of a new financial year for most clubs, which can be important for the purposes of PSR. Transactions may be deferred until the start of the next accounting period because it helps clubs meet their local equivalent of Financial Fair Play.
That explains the delay in announcing the transfer of Martin Zubímendi to Arsenal, for example, with the delay at the request of the selling club Real Sociedad, who wanted the transaction reflected in their accounts for 2025 – 2026.
Expect the quantity of deals being done to ramp up from here.
