While most top European teams invariably prefer to get their transfer business done in the summer, a disastrous first half of the season or an injury crisis can create the need for urgent recruitment.
“I used to be the financial advisor for some of the big players at a big agency in England. And then we set up Quorum, myself and Shaun who’s from Donegal,” he explains. “I got [former Ireland U21 international] Zack Elbouzedi doing that when I went to a game in Waterford and I saw him. Conor McCarthy at Cork City, I started seeing him as a young centre half.“The manager [usually] wants old, experienced centre halves. And I started seeing Conor McCarthy play really well and we looked after him then.”
He also plans to attend a couple of games in the coming weeks involving Ciaran Kelly, who recently left Bohemians to join Mark Hughes’ Bradford in League Two. “Say someone like Liam [Kerrigan], when he finished his exams, he’s now totally focused on football [recently joining Italian side Como]. They don’t want to look back and say: ‘I should have done this, and I should have done that.’ There are thousands of players across the world that would like to play at a professional level, and be a professional footballer, so basically: ‘Don’t be complacent about it.
It is not the only significant change Deane has witnessed in his two decades working in the industry. Deane says that he has in the past observed players falling under the remit of agents with limited knowledge and ability to offer an acceptable service.