Shock horror, Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho will be reduced to doing swap deals and free transfers as we recently reported and yet potential high value transfer deals are still being touted by the media.
The truth is that the media know no more than anyone else right now but if Daniel Levy ever needed an excuse to keep his hands in his pocket he certainly has it right now.
Most clubs are going to be hit financially, including the big boys. Huge transfer deals accompanied by massive salaries are most likely a thing of the past, certainly in the short term anyway.
It really is going to be a bit of a free for all with so many clubs facing restricted budgets as the cost of the Coronavirus pandemic starts to bite.
Free agents are all of a sudden going to be hot property and their agents will no doubt play one club off against another in a bid to squeeze out the highest possible wage for their clients, especially in the absence of any transfer fee to line their greedy pockets with.
But therein lies the problem, clubs are not going to be eager to pay out huge wages knowing the resulting bad PR that will invite. Agents are going to fight against swap deals because they get nothing in terms of commission on the transfer fees.
For some clubs, this is going to get all messy but for Tottenham, it is kind of par for the course and hardly constitutes a kick in the stomach. The fans are well used to Levy being as tight as a ducks butt and so the news that Mourinho is going to have his hands tied is not earth-shattering. It was expected really.
The media will report on £50 million deals, that you can take to the bank but the reality, or so it seems today, is that Tottenham is highly likely to be very quiet when the transfer window opens.
Swap deals look unlikely and the mass scramble to sign free agents will narrow the choice down and, in my opinion, you can forget all about any mega-deals.
Everything points to there being almost no transfer activity this summer, for Tottenham anyway and that really is not a surprise.