An inside look into football transfer negotiations

Follow along with Reevaldo's journey at reevaldo.com

Chelsea have been linked with countless players during the transfer window this summer. Some deals have gone through (Kante), some have not (Morata). Others seem to be up in the air at the moment (Lukaku, Koulibaly).

But how do these deals actually get made and what do the negotiations look like?

As part of an ongoing project, the sports law team at Mills & Reeve thought it would be fun to chronicle the careers of two fictional footballers, starting with the young Brazilian striker, Reevaldo.

If you've been following along with Reevaldo's journey, you'll know that he just moved from his hometown club of Maracanã in Brazil to the newly-promoted Premier League club, Paddington United.

But how did two clubs, thousands of miles apart, actually get this deal done?

In the first of a four-part series focusing specifically on Reevaldo's transfer to London, we take you inside the club to club negotiations, from start to finish.

Hopefully, this article will help shine light on some of Chelsea's activity in the transfer market, and particularly the importance of maintaining positive relationships with top agents.

For example, some fans criticised Chelsea and particularly, Michael Emenalo (who is simultaneously the most underrated and unfairly maligned executive working in football) for signing Matt Miazga and Alexandre Pato last winter. However, those two signings will pay off for Chelsea in a big way at some point.

Pato is already gone after a loan stint that saw him make just two appearances and Miazga appears to be heading out on loan. How, then will these signings pay off?

Well, both Pato and Miazga happen to share the same agents: Kia Joorabchian and Giuliano Bertolucci. If those names sound familiar, they should.

Without Joorabchian, Chelsea as we know it today might not exist.

Seriously. Take a look at a selection of deals they have been involved in -

• Joorabchian convinced Roman Abramovich to buy Chelsea from Ken Bates.
• Bertolucci convinced PSG and Jiangsu Suning to pay absurd transfer fees for David Luiz and Ramires.
• Joorabchian convinced Willian to leave Tottenham Hotspur at the altar.
• Bertolucci also represents Oscar, Kenedy, Lucas Piazon, Wallace, and a host of former players, including Alex.

So, when they ask you to give Pato a showcase to help him find his footing again in Europe (it worked, as he recently signed a four-year deal with Villarreal) and a promising young American a chance, you do it. It's just smart business.

Miazga cost £3.5 million, is on low wages, and needs to show only modest improvements for Chelsea to get a positive return on its investment. The Pato experiment cost next to nothing.

It is crucial to maintain strong relationships with top agents, especially when you consider how important their roles can be in transfer negotiations.

You can read the latest entry in Reevaldo's journey here.