Nowadays, a football signing is seemingly confirmed only when Fabrizio Romano tweets his trademark catchphrase ‘Here we go!’ Whether it’s a quick deadline day deal, or the culmination of a two-year saga (Mbappé-style), the Italian journalist is usually the one to break the news. This sort of advance warning has become commonplace in football, and it is making the transfer window less exciting. By the time Chelsea announced Alejandro Garnacho’s signing at the end of August, Romano had posted no less than 24 times about it on X. While there is an extent to which understanding the inner workings of a transfer is insightful, such excessive reporting can become tiresome. Not to mention the fact that drawn out transfer news can have repercussions, like a soured relationship between players and fans (and many a graffitied mural), or even the transfer failing.
This isn’t always the case, though. In August, Porto announced the shock signing of Dutch forward Luuk de Jong, keeping the news entirely quiet right up to his presentation in front of thousands of fans; they even registered de Jong as a handball player during his medical to keep the doctors out of the loop. A surprise unveiling was a tradition at Porto in the 80s and 90s so imitating this in an age of total transparency has come as a delight to fans and players alike. There are of course positive aspects to the detailed reporting we see now; Arsenal’s signing of Eberechi Eze was made so much more exhilarating given that he was initially understood to be joining rivals Tottenham. It’s also important to note that things really can happen by surprise, especially on deadline day. Having received the ‘Here we go!’ from Romano, Marc Guehi’s transfer to Liverpool from Crystal Palace seemed set in stone. And yet, the deal fell through after Palace failed to sign the centre back’s replacement in time.
I still enjoy the transfer window, but constant social media coverage means I’m less excited by it. Player-fan relationships break down, moves can be forced through, and the pressure mounts to deliver at new clubs. Romano is arguably the foremost of many brilliant transfer reporters, so it isn’t just his fault, but there just isn’t much mystery anymore – Can’t we be more like Porto?
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