For each of the past four summers, Premier League clubs have flexed their financial muscle to splurge over £1 billion on transfers.
Moreover, a number of major sponsors such as airlines and gambling companies have been just as badly hit by the COVID-19 shutdown, which is expected to lead to a curb on commercial revenue. According to Transfermarkt, 1.8 billion euros has already been wiped off the value of Premier League squads. However, embargoes may only accelerate fears that clubs lower down the pyramid will not survive the crisis.
“There will be a significant number of clubs that when some form of transfer market returns, they will be close to going out of business and therefore will accept fire sale prices.The fear for those reliant on transfer fees, though, is that the damage has already been done.