Pochettino: a shorter transfer window benefits Spurs

In case you’ve forgotten, there will be changes to the way the summer transfer window works beginning this summer. Most critically, the window itself will be shorter, slamming shut on August 9, before the start of the new Premier League season, and not at the end of August as it has been up until now.

That’s going to mean some changes to the way Premier League clubs do business. However, Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino thinks the window closing early will be beneficial to Spurs based on the way they usually handle transfers.

“It’s a massive advantage for us for it to finish before the start of the season. For us, it’s massive. Of course, for many clubs it will not change too much but for us it is going to change a lot. We’re going to have the squad ready before the start of the season. It’s more helpful because they’re going to have more time to adapt and help the team.

”You’re going to win an extra month with them and it’s massive. We don’t need to wait for anything. We need today - no, yesterday! - to start to work to try to sign players. It’s going to be very helpful for Tottenham.

”It’s fantastic because now [the window closes] before the start of the season – not one month later.”

I think he’s right. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is known for using the end of the transfer window as a negotiation tactic, and he’s been able to get some pretty good deals for Spurs, both sales and acquisitions. The window closing earlier will mean that even if they leave their business to the end of the window (as they often do), their new players will have a greater period of time to acclimate to Pochettino’s tactics.

We’ve talked a little bit in the past on this site about how it sometimes takes new signings a while to adapt to the way Spurs play, to the extent that it seems like they’re starting from behind. Poch seems to think that if new signings get in earlier they will adapt earlier, and a fast start could be the key to winning the Premier League. Considering how it doesn’t look like City are going to be getting worse anytime soon, Spurs need any advantage they can get, even if it’s minor.

“It is not impossible to the win the title. We need to start the season better. It’s not the right way for the club to start if you want to win big things as you will miss a few months. When you miss a few months in this competitive league it is so difficult to reduce the gap.”

There are reasons to dislike the early closing of the transfer window — the fact that no other league in Europe is following suit could be a disadvantage, as it will force clubs to be more deliberate with their transfers, especially player departures. But I think Poch is correct that getting targets in earlier will help the team start out of the game faster while still leaving their business towards the end of the window. Of course, they could just sign their players earlier, too...