After the phoney transfer window of the last 7 weeks, July 1st has arrived, footballers all over the continent will be checking their bank balances to make sure their loyalty bonus's have landed and then they will be phoning their agents.
Call me cynical but I never get excited about the transfer window until the month of July, whilst others waste time talking about this rumour or that and rant and rave about the pros & cons of one deal or another, TUI tends to stay calm and only report the transfer rumours that have some substance rather than get heated about something clearly planted by an agent or club.
The month of June should be names Social Media Month For Football Agents as they seem to spend most of their time trying to link their clients with clubs and reinforce rumour on social media to try and present it as fact.
The truth is few actual deals get done, up to a week ago only around half a dozen significant transfers to Premier League clubs had been announced, if you take out those that were either loan deals being confirmed as permanent or like our so called signing of Moussa Djenepo really only contracts to sign a contract rather than actual transfers, then you are down to probably two at best.
That doesn't stop righteous indignance from fans of all Premier League clubs be it Manchester City, Liverpool, Saints or anyone who take rumour as cast iron fact and get hot under the collar.
But the page in my Saints Calendar has turned into July (ironically one of the pics is Manolo Gabbiadini) and now the silly season is over and the real work begins.
But this years window will be even more hectic, usually 1st July signifies a full two months of activity, but for Premier League clubs at least its now down to a mere 5 weeks, with the window now closing on the eve of the Premier League season.
It will slam shut at midnight on Thursday 8th August,
This is of course earlier than the official FIFA date for European clubs of Monday 2nd October, but clubs in the top two divisions voted for an earlier deadline to come into force before the start of the season.
The Big Six clubs were no happy with this arrangement when it came into force as they felt it would give them a disadvantage given most European Leagues will close on September 2nd and therefore the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich & PSG have an extra three weeks to strengthen with only Italy closing earlier on 23rd August.
They have a point because although English clubs have to adhere to their own rulings when it comes to bringing in players, when it comes to selling them they have to stick to the September 2nd deadline meaning that the Big Six are open to having their players poached by their rivals in Europe without the opportunity of being able to use the money to buy in a replacement.
Of course I am sure that all of these clubs have morals and wouldn't dream of disadvantaging our boys by doing this.
So finally the button has been pressed on the roundabout and it is starting to turn, there will still be more than a fair share of stalking horses and rumours with little substance aimed to start auctions, but at least now some of them will actually have substance and there is a chance of the deals actually being done.
Welcome to the madhouse !