Every year, football fans across the continent anxiously await the announcements from their favourite team regarding the January and summer transfer windows. In fact, you’ve probably experienced the uncertainty of this time at some point in your career, too.

Supporters want to see who their team is bringing in to help boost their performance, and who they may be letting go for a fee. The results of the windows give fans a good idea of what to expect from their team in the coming months.

But how did the dual-window system come about, how do the two windows differ, and how does it benefit the league? Read on to find out the answers to these questions and more.

Players can only change clubs during two specific windows

Teams across Europe work year-round to identify and acquire the players they think would be a good fit for the club. However, scouted players are not free to join as and when they wish. They are instead limited to moving during the two allocated transfer windows.

These take place in the month of January and throughout the summer, usually between June and August.

The January transfer window is shorter and often quieter than its summer equivalent, so many people consider it to be the less important of the two, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Since the adoption of the dual-window system, many crucial, high-profile transfers have taken place in January.

Examples in recent history include:

• Virgil van Dijk’s record breaking £75 million transfer from Southampton to Liverpool
• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s then-club-record move from Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal
• Bruno Fernandes’ swap from Portuguese club Sporting CP to Manchester United.

The two-window model maintains the competitive integrity of European leagues

Prior to the dual-window model that we know today, players could be transferred freely throughout the season until 31 March, at which point transfers were blocked.

This was done to retain competitive integrity. Officials were worried that, if transfers remained unlocked after March, teams who were in a title race or survival battle would simply bring in the best players from teams with nothing left to play for to help.

This system was then replaced in the 2002/03 Premier League season when the dual-window method we know today was introduced. This removed the 31 March deadline and introduced strict time frames on when transfers could take place.

However, the first vote on the introduction of this method took place more than a decade before it eventually arrived, in the 1991/92 season. The initial idea was a singular, three-week transfer window in January, imitating the then-employed method in Italy’s Serie A.

Powerful Premier League officials were the driving force for the new idea, with other European leagues and less powerful clubs yet to be persuaded.

After undergoing a myriad of changes over the next 10 years, the biannual system was introduced across Europe. The changes were made in every UEFA-run European league at the same time to avoid confusion.

Despite pioneering the system in the early 1990s, the Premier League was the last European league to agree to the new system because they disagreed with several of the changes made to the original plans.

Transfer windows help develop young talent

The new window system, though unpopular in England at the time of its introduction, brought several benefits to the Premier League.

Firstly, limiting transfers to specific windows improves contract stability for both the player and club involved. It meant that a player could not be let go of (or picked up) at any time during the year and is guaranteed time, and pay, with their club until the transfer window.

It also incentivises the development of a club’s youth team and academy. Under the old system, if a key player was injured and wasn’t expected back for many months, the club could simply seek an immediate replacement.

With designated transfer windows, a club in this position would not be able to find a replacement straight away and would instead need someone to cover the position. This means that having a deep talent pool with young players is vital, as the club will always have a replacement on hand.

This encourages Premier League teams to invest in their own academy, granting them the ability to build and nurture their own talent, which helps developing players build their career.

Several current Premier League stars were helped by a robust academy system, including the likes of Lewis Dunk, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, and Harry Kane.

Designated windows also benefit players from international leagues and fans

Transfer windows bring more to the game than just youth players and contract stability, too. Windows allow the fans of a team to emphatically rally behind their squad, since they know it is unlikely to change before the next window.

The fans can get emotionally invested in their set of players, pick a favourite, and form a bond, all because they know their team isn’t changing for at least a few months.

This then makes the transfer windows more intense, exciting, and nerve-racking for fans who want to sign certain players or avoid losing their favourite.

Plus, having two windows can also benefit players coming in from overseas. Many international leagues, such as Japan’s J-League, run from February to late November or early December, which means the January transfer window is the perfect time to bring them in.

Players who are chasing a title, for example, may be less willing to leave midway through a season than at the end.

Working with a professional

The transfer window is a time of uncertainty, and you may be worried about your income. To find out how we could help you remain confident in your finances, please get in touch with us at ProSport.

Email enquiries@prosportwealth.co.uk or call 01204 602909 to find out more.