Transfer Window should close before the season begins

The fact that the transfer window remains open beyond the start of the new Premier League season takes away from the matches and causes stress for fans and managers.

Maybe it’s the American in me speaking, but I still don’t understand why the transfer window stays open after the start of the new season.

In baseball, football, basketball and hockey team rosters are set prior to the beginning of play. Of course there are periods throughout each sports’ campaigns where players can be traded, waived and acquired. However, when play kicks off rosters are set.

This makes sense in so many ways. First off, fans know which players will represent their club and play where. Managers can use the preseason to strategize and figure out their best lineups. Even more importantly, the players themselves will be able to begin play with confidence knowing their place on the team.

More from Playing for 90

The 2015-2016 Premier League season ended last May. While there were some deals made early (Granit Xhaka to Arsenal, N’Golo Kante to Chelsea, Zlatan Ibrahimović to Manchester United), the transfer window remains open all summer long and overlaps with the start of the new campaign.

The lingering uncertainty causes anxiety for fans as well as managers. Arsenal is a perfect example. Everyone knew back in May that the club needed to sign a striker and a center back. Now two games in to the new season, Arsene Wenger has still not addressed these needs. Meanwhile the rumors of who may or may not sign continue.

Had the transfer window closed before Arsenal’s opening match, Wenger would have been forced to address these positions earlier. Instead, fans have been Googling “Arsenal transfer news” on a daily basis looking for updates.

The transfer window affects the players

Most affected by the transfer window staying open after the start of the season are the players themselves. How can they prepare properly when they don’t know where they’ll be playing? Arsenal’s Joel Campbell is a great example. The Costa Rican forward was a part of Arsenal’s preseason tour of the United States and Norway. In fact, he scored in each match he played in. Then this weekend came news that Campbell had been loaned out to Sporting Lisbon.

There are a number of players who are still in limbo unsure of where they will be at the end of August. Joe Hart is being replaced at Manchester City and was told to look for another club. Bastian Schweinsteiger was left out of Manchester United’s first team by new manager Jose Mourinho and his future has been up in the air. These are just two examples of many.