This time of the year is usually a very hectic one for football agents.

Mobile phones do not stop ringing as players and clubs start to mount up ideas in their minds ahead of a new season, even though the current campaign has not yet crossed the finishing line.

However, the coronavirus pandemic has also influenced the agents’ day-to-day routine as at the moment, clubs are more concerned about whether it is possible to conclude the 2019-20 season rather than creating identikits for potential new signings ahead of a new football campaign.

Italian agent Giulio Tedeschi and Daniel Sansone collaborate with each other at Football Factor Tedeschi & Partners, always in search of the best talents across the globe.

In addition, Sansone is involved in the Maltese movement as he also collaborates with two other partners at Sports Pro Management & Consultancy.

Tedeschi and Sansone contend that the virus has been a shock to the whole system.

“We still work on a daily basis but obviously we operate remotely from home,” Tedeschi told The Sunday Times of Malta.

“We continue to interact with our clients to try and schedule what opportunities could there be ahead of the new season, even though we are going through a difficult period as a society of course.

“Such situation is denying us to work smoothly in big markets like the United States, where they have now a huge number of positive cases and deaths.”

Fellow partner Sansone echoed Tedeschi’s thoughts as he explained that this virus has compromised a bit the situation, even in terms of transfer market given that most probably fans won’t be allowed to attend games for now and there are lot of controversies about TV rights financial packages.

“A lot of associations do not know yet how the transfer window will be held, even though they may have already taken decisions about their domestic championships,” Sansone said.

“In Malta, there had already been an agreement to extend the transfer window until mid-September rather than ending in August but now we have to wait and see whether there this will change.”

In Italy, Serie A clubs are eyeing a June return while the second-tier and third-tier campaigns are in doubt.

“In Italy, the coronavirus situation looks like is starting to improve but there are still some troubles when it comes to football,” Tedeschi said.

“For example, the Serie B and Serie C leagues would rather not resume play because that would mean that they would need to continue pay salaries beyond the regular contracts while not receiving any income from Match Day revenue.

“But at the same time, it is also a struggle in the Serie A.

“Taking into account Roma, they have a vast number of their staff on furlough scheme, so at the moment Italian football is a bit on hold.”

Tedeschi highlighted the fact that in Italy they underestimate the importance of football in terms of economy, as they see it only as a sport.

“Football is the third biggest sector in Italy’s economy and if its return continues to be delayed, it will have a huge impact as it will effect a large number of people that are involved in the Beautiful Game,” he said.

In recent days, the England FA has confirmed that the players whose current deals run out in June 30 can have their contract extended until the 2019-20 is concluded, including also on-loan players, with Tedeschi analysing the potential downside of this scenario.

“Players whose contracts expire at the end of June could be already seeking pastures new in other leagues or other countries,” he said.

“Extending their deals beyond June 30 means that this could deny them any transfer following the conclusion of the current season.

“It’s a decision that could trigger a handful of legal cases before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”

‘Demand and Supply’

Sansone brought up the example of the demand and supply theory to describe the new era that the transfer window could enter once the coronavirus crisis is over.

“The players need to be sensible and realise that it is not possible to have high demands because clubs won’t be looking to go deep into their pockets right now,” he said.

“Naturally, the market value of the players will decrease and now we will realise that the transfer price tags and salaries were sky-rocketing too quickly prior this crisis.”

Asked about whether football transfer could become somewhat similar to that of American sports, specialising more on player trading rather than cash, Sansone said that it may not be the case given that football is a globalised sport while sports like NBA and NFL are confined within the US only.

“Money in football is spread more on players price tags while in the United States, the franchises invest heavily on players wages,” he emphasised.

Meanwhile, Tedeschi highlighted another department that could be damaged due to the virus and that is women’s football.

In England, AFC Flyde disbanded their women’s team because of the pandemic, becoming the first semi-professional or professional women’s side in country to fold in this crisis.

“Clubs will be looking to cut expenses and the women’s part of a team could be deemed as extra cost in such cases,” Tedeschi stressed.

“This is very unfortunate given that the profile of the women’s game has become more respectable and credible following last year’s World Cup.

“In addition, in Italy there was everything in place to introduce a professional set-up in the women’s game as well. I think now such discussions will fall down in the pecking order for now.”