By Graham Thomas
The summer transfer window used to be a frothy cocktail – all foam, sprigs of mint and mini-umbrellas – before the start of the new football season.
But this year’s is more like a flat pint of lager served in a plastic cup. Low on fizz, energy and sparkle.
Last year, clubs spent a record £1.95 billion on players but this year the market has dampened, not least because of the points deductions handed out last season to Everton and Nottingham Forest for breaking the profit and sustainability rules.
Premier League clubs have been wheeling and dealing, but the eye-catchers have tended to be not because of the price tag, but because of the age of the player.
Lots of home grown young players have been flogged so that clubs can stay within the overall limits.
That cautious approach has fed down into the EFL and affected the thinking of clubs in Wales, as everywhere else.
Cardiff City, Swansea City and Newport County have done deals, but very little money has actually changed hands.
In fact, of the 15 new recruits made by the three clubs, only three of them have involved transfer fees, or four if you include the loan fee of £500,000 paid by Cardiff City to Hertha Berlin for striker Wilfried Kanga.
