Seven truths teams need to know about the transfer market
Alessandro Galleni has been the director of Genoa strategy since November 2022. The club has a glorious past – only Milan, Inter and Juventus have won more Serie A – but in the present, Genoa must work hard to follow larger and better resource clubs. Recruitment and budgeting are crucial.
Here, Galleni shares seven truths on the operation of the transfer window.
N ° 1: Players are not basic products and there is really no “market rate”
Many factors are devoted to the determination of transfer costs: wages, duration of the contract, age, position, if a club needs to acquire a player or need to unload, what is the budget and the distance in its development. Galleni says that there is a premium for the rise: an extremely athletic player could be able to improve technically and therefore to assert the investment. (The reverse – a very good -gifted player who becomes a better athlete – is much rarer.)
“Until the age of about 23 years, some players can improve physically, becoming stronger, more fit and faster,” explains Galleni. “Some mature faster than others, you have to understand where they are on their development path.”
Beyond that, he quotes Mateo Retagui, a player of Genoa acquired from Boca Juniors in Argentina for 12 million euros in 2023-24, transferred to Atalanta for 22 million euros plus 3 million euros in bonuses a year later and now moved to Al-Qadsiah in Saoudie for 60 million euros, plus 7 million euros. It is not as if retagued, in the space of two seasons, had improved fivefold.
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Reteagui scored seven goals for Genoa – not a lot, but it was on the one hand conservative which did not necessarily provide the type of service it needed. Atalanta realized that it would be much more prolific in their system, which was more attacker and had a lot of cross. Genoa knew that Atalanta had money to spend, so they held the best transfer costs they could obtain. Retagui became the top scorer in Serie A, turned out to the Champions League, then left for enormous transfer fees in Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Pro League, where budgets are even higher.
In other words, the increase in costs paid for its contract was not only a function of its growth as a player, but the result of a range of other factors.
N ° 2: Ideally, the teams could deal directly with the clubs during the transfer of the players, but sometimes they are better to use intermediaries
Galleni says that in Italy, Genoa generally does not use intermediaries, preferring to face the club-club. But the game is global and only the biggest Migiht clubs have contacts or a presence of screening in each league or on each continent.
“We are looking for in the world, but we are not going to know what each team needs or what players could be available in each club,” he said. “Someone will call us and suggest us players who may be available. Or they will ask questions about our players on behalf of other clubs. Usually we deal with intermediaries who know one or two leagues. In some markets where we have done a lot of business, we don’t necessarily need this.
“If I have, let’s say, a promising attacker in my team of young people who must be loaned to obtain football from first team, I do not know at the top of my head in which clubs, let’s say, the higher Austrian division or the second French division are looking for an advantage. An intermediary will offer this service.
N ° 3: Managers, out of necessity, tend to think in the short term while clubs must think of medium and long term. You must find a way for these objectives to line up
There is also the reality that unless you are in a very high club, your manager probably does not stay for an extended period: if he does it well, he will move to a larger club and if he hurts, he will be dismissed. A club like Genoa aims to be competitive, but he will necessarily seek to bring players that they can develop and move later to a profit to help cover their operating expenses.
The manager must adapt to this strategy, and the club underlines that he has a profile of the type of manager he wants. Not by coincidence, he is proud of the fact that Genoa has ranked sixth among clubs in the Big Five in Europe leagues for the minutes of the first team played by those under 18 last season.
“We cannot afford to find talents where the biggest clubs find it, or acquire established stars,” he said. “What we are doing is that we offer players a chance to grow and a window to present their growth. And, of course, we fill the team with older professionals who have given the example, reflect our values and provide the cohesion we need.”
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N ° 4: Managers must decide the profile of the player they wish, then clubs must give them a list of alternatives that correspond to the profile. You cannot fall in love with a specific player and think that he alone can do the job
Most have heard the story about how Jurgen Klopp wanted to sign Julian Brandt, but the club pushed Mohamed Salah, and the rest, as they say, is history. Coaches must have an idea of how they want to play and the qualities that players must have in their system, but it is essential that they understand that the players are fungible: if a target is out of financial reach, you go to the next that corresponds to the profile.
“A coach cannot start with a person he wants, it must be with a profile and the reality is that there will be many players who correspond to this profile,” explains Galleni. “In this profile, there is a group of alternatives and you find the one that suits you.”
And, of course, he cannot belong to the coach to choose the players: it is the work of the director of football (in Genoa, it is Marco Ottolini) and the department of Scouting.
N ° 5: Developing players and designing the right ways for them is essential to the success of a club
Invest in players – both those of your academy and those you sign – who develop in your club will cost you less and will end up contributing to your first team or leave for another club (and win transfer fees). This is a large part of the reason why Genoa has invested in a newly open complex of young people (Badia di Sant’andrea) to help attract and retain young players. It is not only a question of locating the rise either – it is a question of having a plan for the way in which you will develop this advantage.
“We had a very promising defender named Honest Ahanor last season,” he said. “He was with the first pre-season team and trained with them all year round while playing mainly for the youth team. He made most of his first team appearances during the last month of the season, but showed us enough for us to transfer him to Atalanta this summer for costs that could reach 20 million euros.
“Now, we could have left him on the side of youth, or we could have pushed him right away in the first team. But we believe that our plan allowed him to adapt to playing against adult men – he was 16 years old when he started – and gradually grow.”
“This is an internal example, but I can also quote Sebastian Otoa, a player we signed at 20 years from AAB in Denmark in January,” added Galleni. “He only played a single minute in April and only made three appearances in the first team. We gave him an adaptation period, and we expect him to contribute this year.”
Finding an upward potential is not only young people. It is also a question of identifying the players who fought elsewhere – whether by injury or other reasons – and help them relaunch their careers. It also requires a way.
N ° 6: The data is important in recruitment, as well as live screening and learning players on and off the field. You want to be advised data rather than data -based, but it is essential that any newcomer corresponds to the club’s DNA
Galleni is categorical about this. Genoa has more than 28,000 season ticket holders and a fans base that is extremely committed and requires the commitment of its players.
“The intensity and an attitude of combat are in the DNA of our club and it is just as important for us as talent and professionalism,” he said. “There are other clubs that may have less passionate fans or less fans or where the city is more relaxed and that certain types of players are more suitable for this environment. If a player will be shaken by our fans, if he wants to respond negatively to criticism, this is not the right place for him.
“One of the best examples is one of our captains, Johan Vazquez, who also has Captain of Mexico. He is a leader and a warrior on the ground, and he adapted us perfectly upon his arrival.”
N ° 7: You can search for players in traditional “homes” – areas that have produced many successful players – but that means greater competition. You can also search for players on other markets, where fewer competitors look, but you have to get the right balance
“We have found that the Nordic markets, in particular the Danish and the Norwegian, correspond to our DNA,” explains Galleni. “And, of course, the more we operate on these markets, the more we get to know them and the more they get to know us.”
From Morten Frendrup to Mikael Eltsson in Morten Thorsby, Genoa seems to have a pipeline in Scandinavia, and it works for them. You have to stay open -minded, but there is nothing wrong with coming back to what you know.
