Clubs Gear Up For Summer Transfers

Soccer's off-season is an important part of the year for any team's preparations, not just a time when players go on holiday and roast girls with their mates.

Clubs use the summer break to prepare their squad for the season ahead. A major part of this is the transfer of players in and out of clubs, and the "transfer gossip" that comes with this is big news in newspapers and on websites.

"Transfer gossip is important to us," says a Stoke City insider. "It lets us know which players we are after and who our competitors may want. We are especially keen to get one over on West Brom, so we often look into the availability of players linked to that lot."

Jeb Kinghorn makes a living providing transfer gossip to newspapers. "It's a tough job, one of the very toughest," says Jeb. "I have a lot of competition from real transfers that are actually happening so I have to make sure what I come up with has got the chops to look like it could really take place. I have to factor in a lot of information: the clubs involved, a transfer fee, wage demands and a made up quote or two from 'insiders' or 'sources'."

Port Vales chief scout Ken Yip is grateful for transfer gossip columns. "A small club like the 'Scamps' can't afford to make up our own transfer gossip, so we rely on free transfer gossip from newspapers or websites. It really makes a difference for us."

So, can Jeb Kinghorn give EYE ON STOKE any exclusive gossip? "I will give you Shaun Wright-Phillips to Stoke for £6 million from QPR, with a quote from a 'source' close to the player of: 'Stoke are a big team and established in the Premier League. It could be an interesting project.'"

I contacted my Stoke City insider and gave him the gossip. "The transfer fee seems a bit high," he says. "But this does seem like the kind of deal we would do, so I will pass this information onto TP. Thanks."