English clubs not only ones hit by economic downturn

The scarcity of big-money transfers in England this summer shows that clubs are paying the price for having spent beyond their means, according to an expert in football finance.

Despite there being a history of last-gasp deals at the end of August, it has been predicted that this is highly unlikely to happen this year.

Joe McLean, partner at chartered accountants Grant Thornton, said: "Frankly, there's been overspending in the game over the last five to 10 years.

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"Many clubs might apparently now be practising prudence but they're actually only practising it because they don't have any more money to spend.

"Many of them have got situations with their respective bankers and lenders where those parties have said, 'Enough is enough – we're not lending you any more money. It's time you started paying it back'."

McLean believes deadline day will be characterised by an abundance of loan moves and swap deals.

"I still expect a few reasonably-sized deals to go ahead," said McLean, who claims new rules in the Premier League limiting senior squad sizes will be a factor in any comings and goings before the window shuts.

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"If a club wants to buy Player X, they've got to make sure, in buying that player, it fits in with the 25-man squad profile."

McLean believes some clubs are not telling supporters the whole truth about the extent of their financial problems.

"It's much worse than fans believe," he said.

"I think fans, being fans, have been caught up in the tremendous interest factor that still prevails in English football.

"Like UK plcs and like individual households, there's a limit to what you can do. The clubs are recognising that they're not immune from normal economics. If they haven't got the money, they can't spend it."

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The problem is Europe-wide, according to McLean, citing Spain as another example.

"Barcelona, Real Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla: they're all carrying hefty debt burdens," he said. "Recently, Barcelona had to go to the market because they had overspent."

McLean believes the European footballing superpower to have weathered the storm best is Germany.

"Without making sweeping generalisations, Germany tends to be a more disciplined nation in many ways," he said.

"They still attract a lot of foreign players but there are more indigenous players in Germany than there are in England. The model's slightly different and, I'd suggest, better in Germany."