If you are not sure about when the transfer window closes and what the rules and regulations are then here is the Ugly Inside's hand guide to get you through the next 36 hours and counting.
The January 2022 transfer window will officially slam shut at 11pm on Monday 31st January, but that does not mean that the paperwork all has to be completed by this time, club's can use what is called a deal sheet to extend the time to get the transfer complete.
A deal sheet cannot be used until 9pm on Monday evening assuming the 11pm shut off point, after 9pm if a club feels it isn't going to get all the paperwork done etc by the cut off point, it can submit a deal sheet which effectively declares that they expect the deal to go through but need some extra time, they then have two hours until 1am to submit the full completed paperwork.
International transfers are slightly different and differ depending on the country, In Germany transfer window closes at 5pm the Italian window closes at 7pm and in Scotland, the window will be open until midnight.
So technically we could buy a player from a German club after 5pm, but they are unable to buy players themselves after that time.
All a little confusing, in recent years the late late deals have been a little less frequent, although clubs still do a lot of business in the closing hours of deadline day.
Whys is this the case you may ask ? It's a simple answer, selling clubs are keen to leave things late to try and get the best price for a player, so a whole chain reaction of transfers could be held up whilst one club sits tight hoping for a late bidding war, when they cave in and accept a price then suddenly it all goes into overdrive and a late rush occurs with a chain starting at the top and going down right through the divisions.
So as you watch the usual raft of Sky TV reporters outside training grounds for added effect, when 11pm chimes, it isn't quite over, it is about whether there are any deal sheets in play and the results of that won't be known till 1am.
Saints have not had any incoming business so far with only a few loan deals going out, will we have a rush on deadline day or will we be content to see the season out and plan for the summer.
Certainly there is a line of thought that says the January window is over priced and is full of panic buys and we have found that out ourselves most famously in the signing of Guido Carrillo back in 2018.
Personally I feel we have a squad to see us through and perhaps surprise a few people in the coming months, it still needs a player or two in key areas, but overall I think we can cope in this window without spending over the top, so if it is quiet for us then I hope that is because we are planning our strategy for the summer.,