It is important to learn how to negotiate transfer deals effectively so you can make the most out of your transfer budget and avoid damaging your club’s finances.
You can make a transfer offer for a player by selecting Make An Offer from his Transfer drop-down menu. This will take you to the Transfer Offer screen. By default this screen will show the terms that can be included in a transfer offer. If you want to make a loan offer instead then you can use the drop-down at the top-left of the screen.
If you want to buy a player but do not want to negotiate a transfer deal for him yourself then you can delegate this responsibility to a member of staff by adding the player to your transfer targets list from his Transfer drop-down menu.
Making an Enquiry
Before making a transfer offer for a player you might want to make an enquiry by selecting Make Enquiry from his Transfer drop-down menu. The club may then respond with a set of terms that they are willing to accept for the player, which you can use as a starting point in negotiations. Although, a club will often respond by dismissing your enquiry, in which case it could be difficult or impossible to obtain the player for a reasonable price. However, you might still be able to sign the player by bidding in excess of the minimum estimated cost, if any, shown on the player’s scout report.
Judging the Value of an Offer
When making a transfer offer for a player you are essentially trying to reach an agreement with the player’s club on the value of the player. This is a different concept to the estimated value shown on the player’s Profile or Attributes screens. The value of your transfer offer represents how much you are willing to pay for the player (how much you value him). If this is acceptable to the club then the transfer will be agreed.
An estimate for the value of an offer is shown by the potential value in the information on the right of the Transfer Offer screen. This is the maximum amount of money the player’s club will receive from your club for the player before any payments related to a future sale of the player to a third club.
The potential value is equal to the fee, which is the amount to be paid to the player’s club immediately upon his transfer, plus the full, maximum amount payable of any additional fees that you choose to include in the offer. Additional fees can be amounts paid in equal instalments over time (which are actually slightly less valuable than the same amount paid immediately) or amounts paid if and when particular conditions are met during the player’s time at your club (which are actually less valuable than if the amounts were to be paid with certainty).
Players to exchange and additional clauses are not included in the potential value.
Therefore, the potential value does not take into account the fact that some fees will be paid in the future and some fees are uncertain, nor does it take into account the value of exchanged players or how additional clauses might affect the club’s view of the bid. You should therefore consider these factors in addition to the potential value when assessing the value of your offer.
How Much to Offer
When making your first offer for a player, assuming the bid is not a response to a successful enquiry, the fee will in most cases default to the player’s estimated value. However, you should not use this amount as a basis for forming the value of your offer.
On the other hand, if the player has as asking price, as would be the case with a transfer listed player, then the fee will default to this amount. In this case the default fee does form a reliable basis for the value of your offer. The club will most likely accept a bid for this value if they are happy with the structure of the offer, but you may still be able to make an acceptable bid for a lower amount.
If other club’s have already bid for the player then you will want the value of your offer to equal these. A lower offer will most likely be rejected, while if other bids have already been accepted then there is no point in bidding more. Any bids that have been made will be shown on the player’s Transfer Status screen or on the right of the Transfer Offer screen.
If no other clubs have made a bid then you should base the value of your offer on the estimated cost shown on the player’s scout report, even if this means bidding below the asking price. The report should be dated recently as the estimated cost will change over time. The estimated cost is normally shown as a range rather than a single amount, and so you should generally start by making an offer valued slightly below this range before negotiating upwards. If another club bids for the player then you may need to increase the value of your offer to match.
In some cases the estimated cost is equal to the player’s release fee, a fee that must be accepted if offered due to a clause in the player’s contract, in which case you could start by bidding under this amount before increasing your offer to match the release fee if necessary. However, a release fee cannot be activated using additional fees, as the whole amount must be paid up front. The information on the right of the Transfer Offer screen will inform you if a release clause will be activated by your offer. You should not include any additional fees or additional clauses in your offer if a release clause is activated.
Transfer Budget
The amount you can offer is subject to your transfer budget, which is shown on your club’s Finances screen, as well as on the right of the Transfer Offer screen. This is the maximum amount your board will allow you to spend on transfers. However, they may also allow a percentage of transfer revenue (fees received from players sold) to be added to the budget. This percentage is also shown on the Finances screen.
If your transfer budget is not high enough then you may be able to increase it at the expense of your wage budget by clicking Budget Adjustment on the right of the Transfer Offer screen. You will need to be under budget on your wages to do this.
Another way to keep an offer within your budget is to offer more in additional fees that are to be paid in future seasons, and less up front and in additional fees to be paid during the current season. The amount of your offer that will be deducted from the current season’s budget is shown by the transfer budget cost at the bottom of the screen, while the information on the right provides details of the amount that will be deducted from future budgets.
Asking the Board to Sign a Player
By asking your board to sign a player on your behalf you may be able to buy players that you would otherwise not be able to afford given your transfer budget.
For some players who could be important signings for your club there will be an Interact With Board button on the right of the Transfer Offer screen. This button may also be available on the news item that appears in your inbox when a club responds to an offer.
Clicking the button will take you to the Board Meeting screen where you are able to try to convince the board to buy the player by selecting a reason why the player should be signed. Often the board will reject this request, however, particularly if the player is an unrealistic target. If they agree then the player will most likely be signed, but the board may end up paying a large sum to bring him in that could damage your finances, as well as leaving you with no remaining transfer budget for the rest of the season.