The transfer window may be closed, but for a football agent, the next one has already started.
There is a particular moment at the end of every transfer window when football seems to slow down.
The final contracts have been signed. Registrations are completed. Players have joined their new clubs. The FIFA licence has been renewed for another year. Invoices have been sent to clubs. After weeks and sometimes months of conversations, negotiations, travel, paperwork and decisions, the transfer period is officially over.
For a football agent, this is an important milestone. It is also the beginning of the next phase.
Because the work around a player’s career continues throughout the season. And in many ways, the weeks after the transfer window are among the most important.
“A transfer window may close, but the responsibility for a player’s career continues every day.”
After the window
Once the transfer window closes, every squad enters a new phase.
For some players, that means settling into a new club, a new dressing room, a different coach or even a new country. For others, very little has changed on paper. They have stayed at the same club, but the environment around them may look completely different.
New players have arrived. Competition for positions has increased. A new coach may have different ideas. Roles within the squad can change quickly, and a player who finished the previous season as a regular starter may suddenly have to compete for her place again.
This is why one of our first priorities after the window is to understand the situation of every player we represent.
How has she started the season? What is her current role? How does the coaching staff see her? Is she getting the minutes we expected? How is she responding to the competition around her? And most importantly, what can she influence herself?
A difficult start to the season does not automatically require a major decision. Sometimes a player needs time to adapt. Sometimes she needs to improve specific parts of her game, understand the expectations of the coach or respond to stronger competition within the squad.
Our role is to follow these situations closely. We watch games, speak with our players and, where appropriate, maintain communication with the club. Together, we try to understand what is happening and what the player can do to improve her position.
There will also be moments when a player needs support beyond the sporting analysis. Football can change quickly. A few weeks without playing can feel much longer when you are living through it every day. This is where perspective, honest conversations and motivation become particularly important.
The objective is to help the player stay focused, understand her situation and continue working towards the next opportunity.
The objective is to help the player stay focused, understand her situation and continue working towards the next opportunity.
A season needs direction
At the beginning of a season, I like to define clear objectives together with our players.
Those objectives depend on where each player is in her career.
For a young player, success could mean establishing herself in senior football. For another, it could mean increasing her minutes, becoming a regular starter or developing specific parts of her game. An international player may be working towards a major tournament or establishing herself within the national team.
The important part is making development measurable.
The important part is making development measurable.
We define objectives and track milestones throughout the season. Playing time is one indicator. Performance, physical development, tactical progress, national-team involvement and responsibility within the team can be equally important.
This gives us something concrete to return to during the year.
Where were we at the beginning of the season? Where are we now? What has developed? What requires more attention? Are we still moving towards the objectives we defined together?
A career develops over seasons. Our responsibility is to understand that development and provide the right support at each stage.
“The best time to understand a player’s situation is before a decision has to be made.”
Stay close to football
The period between transfer windows gives us something extremely valuable: time to watch football.
I want to see our players live as often as possible. Video provides valuable information, while being at the stadium adds another level of context.
You see how a player behaves before the match. How she communicates. How the coach interacts with her. How she responds after making a mistake. What happens when the team is under pressure. How she behaves when she starts, when she comes from the bench or when she does not play at all.
Every match is also an opportunity to understand the wider market.
You meet sporting directors, scouts, coaches, agents and other people working within the game. You hear what clubs are planning. You understand which positions could become relevant. You learn how different clubs approach recruitment and squad development.
Those conversations often become relevant months later when the market starts moving again.
Build relationships before you need them
The months between the windows are important for strengthening existing relationships and developing new ones.
They also give us time to explore new markets.
Women’s football continues to develop internationally, and our responsibility is to understand where meaningful opportunities are emerging. Which leagues are becoming more professional? Which clubs are investing? Where are playing standards improving? Which markets could become relevant for our players over the next few years?
Entering a new market takes time. You need to understand the league, the clubs, their structures and the people making the decisions. Relationships need to develop naturally.
The same applies to recruitment and the way we present our players.
Our player portfolio is constantly evolving. Existing profiles need to be updated. New players emerge. Contracts change. Performances change. Players reach milestones, receive national-team call-ups or take on different roles at their clubs.
A portfolio created at the beginning of the season has to develop with the players throughout the year.
January has already started
The winter transfer window may still feel far away. From an agency perspective, preparation has already started.
Which players could need a different situation in January? Which contracts are approaching important stages? Which clubs could have requirements? Which players might benefit from a loan? Where could squad changes create opportunities?
These are questions we start working on well before January.
Many winter transfers have their origins in conversations taking place weeks or months earlier.
And while we prepare for the winter window, we are already looking towards the following summer.
For players whose contracts expire at the end of the season, planning needs to begin early. For players under longer contracts, we need to understand their trajectory and the club’s plans. Young players may face decisions around loans, first-team pathways or the right environment for their next stage of development.
Preparation gives us the time to understand the options before decisions have to be made.
Preparation gives us the time to understand the options before decisions have to be made.
“The next transfer window does not start in January. It starts with the work we do today.”
The work between the windows
Transfer windows are the most visible part of an agent’s work. They produce announcements, new shirts, photographs and contracts.
The months between them are filled with a different kind of work.
Watching matches. Speaking with players. Visiting clubs. Tracking development. Setting objectives. Building relationships. Understanding new markets. Updating portfolios. Identifying opportunities. Preparing for January. Preparing for the summer.
Much of this happens away from public view. But this is where the foundation for the next decisions is built. The summer window has closed. The work continues.
And the next transfer window has already begun.