It was very interesting to hear Manchester United Manager Jose Mourinho give his take on the Premier League deciding to move the summer transfer window deadline up in 2018. Next year, the transfer window will no longer be open once league play has commenced.
A 2/3 majority of clubs, 14 in total, voted to move deadline day up to August 9, two days before the regular season begins. Mourinho is a guy that likes to get all his acquisitions done as early as possible, so he is actually in favor of this idea, although his team was not.
Man City’s Pep Guardiola and Swansea City’s Paul Clement were in the same boat on this issue- in favor of early closure, and also at odds with how their clubs voted.
Mourinho had this to say at his weekly news conference today (watch the video at this link here): “There’s a disadvantage where the market is closed for us and open for others, but when we close our doors, we close the market for others too.”
“I want to arrive at day one with my squad and players, I don’t want to be waiting for late decisions – that’s the perspective of the coach.
“But there is another perspective – I have to share the problems the board have. When a decision is not uniform around Europe, obviously we are opening an element of disadvantage for the English clubs.
“That was the reason why United voted against.”
However, Mourinho also added: “I expect United to be strong and powerful enough when the market closes.”
United have become a summer shopping only club, having bought just one player, and that was a reserve goalkeeper, in the past three January transfer windows.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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