Transfer deadline day is one of the most confusing days of the year for soccer fans. So much information is flying around, it's difficult to keep track of it all. Have my club signed a player? Have they not signed a player? Have they given up? Are they still negotiating? I don't know! No one seems to know!
To help sort through the confusion, we came up with five handy ways to tell if your club has ACTUALLY, signed that big name, or if the signing is just a rumor blowin' in the wind.
If a player is going to change clubs, he's going to have to make friends with his new teammates in a hurry. Social media is a great way to get a head-start on this. So, if a player starts following some of your club's stars on Instagram or even Twitter, you can safely assume a deal is imminent.
BREAKING: Leon Goretzka has liked a video of Jürgen Klopp on Instagram. The video was only posted in the last 5 hours! #LFC pic.twitter.com/huZTQUM1BX
— LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) January 1, 2018
You are not allowed to make these unless the player has actually signed for the club. I read that on the Internet, so I know it's true.
Why else would a player be in a town or near an office if he's not DEFINITELY signing for your club?
Virgil Van Dijk and his representatives were apparently in London yesterday, where Liverpool have offices. pic.twitter.com/95UNlBS1KL
— Anfield Express (@AnfieldExpress) July 27, 2017
These folks have their fingers on the PULSE of a club. They know the ins and outs, the ups, the downs and, most importantly, the names of the players they think the club is going after. They make their livings on juicy gossip, and they would never lie to you, reader.
Arsene Wenger insists Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will not be sold this summer despite increasing interest from Chelsea https://t.co/M7ADVPvYWg pic.twitter.com/1gw1CoLHzh
— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) August 16, 2017
This is how you know they're desperate. Might as well buy that custom jersey now so you can wear it at the unveiling. You will look so much smarter than everyone else. The Nostradamus of transfers. "I just have a sense for these things," you'll say, but we'll both know how you knew.
The signs were there all along, but it's down to you to notice them.