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So, Swansea City have actually made a January signing.

Alberto Paloschi's arrival marks a new era under Francesco Guidolin and there could be more to follow before Monday's deadline.

Here, we look at how a deal for a player is put together.

1. The scouting

Probably the most mysterious element of a football transfer, but absolutely crucial.

Football scouting is an evolving industry. The days of the old-school scout, making instinctive judgements from the stands, are not quite over, but they are fading, particularly at the top level.

Many clubs now use computer programmes, such as Scout7, to gather detailed statistical analyses of players. Videos are uploaded within minutes of a game finishing, enabling a manager, head of recruitment or director of football to run the rule over a player from the comfort of his office.

Swansea, however, are a bit more old school than most.

In their case the scouting of players has been a carefully planned part of the club's model over the last 10 years.

(Image: Getty)

The system is headed up by chairman Huw Jenkins and now new boss Francesco Guidolin with three key men underneath them.

Those three are Dave Leadbetter, Tim Henderson and European-based George Foster – all with a raft of experience in player recruitment. They have scouts underneath them but it is that trio who report back into Jenkins and compile the club’s ‘black book’ of players, a ready-made list of players who can be tracked over a period of time.

The idea behind the long-term tracking of players is to allow the club to move quickly when opportunities and situations arise, as was the case with Andre Ayew.

(Image: James Maloney/Liverpool Echo)

The arrival of Guidolin will add another dimension to all this and things could potentially be tweaked and changed if he stays for the long term. The Italian's extensive knowledge of European football was cited as one of the factors behind his appointment and has already made his mark with the £8m signing of Alberto Paloschi, with whom he worked at Parma between 2008 and 2010.

Related:Alberto Paloschi: What type of player is he and how will he change Swansea City? The key questions answered by Italian football experts

2. The bid

So once a player has been identified, the next step is the transfer (or loan) offer. Pretty straightforward, you’d think, but there is more than one way to start a transfer.

The most obvious is for a buying club to submit a formal written offer for a player, seemingly by fax even in this day and age, which will then be considered by the selling club.

But it is just as common for clubs to contact trusted agents to act on their behalf, either in finding an available player from another club, or finding a buyer for their own unwanted player.

These agents act as intermediaries between the buyers and the sellers, and can set the wheels in motion for a deal that otherwise may not have been struck.

You will often see numerous reports of a club making a bid for a player only for them to deny it in public. Quite often this is can be explained by the use of third-party agents who make the approach, thus giving the club a certain level of deniability if they wish.

Related:Francesco Guidolin: Why I want to stay at Swansea City in the Premier League for many years

3. Tapping up?

Premier League rules state that “a player under contract shall not directly or indirectly make any approach to another club without having obtained the prior written consent of the existing club to who he is contracted.”

Basically, that all transfer deals should be started from scratch.

Reality, of course, is different. Rarely will a bid be submitted for a player, without the buying club having contacted the player’s representatives to see if he would be interested in a move, and if so what kind of wages he would be after.

Frowned upon? Certainly, but it is pretty much common practice across the game.

The bulk of a deal is often set up before a fee has been agreed between the buying and selling clubs.

Related:Alberto Paloschi officially becomes Francesco Guidolin's first major signing at Swansea City

4. The negotiations

(Image: Getty Images)

For those of us in the media, transfer stories provide stock phrases, which are almost becoming cliches. “Preliminary talks,” “advanced discussions”, “talks ongoing”, “personal terms”, “showdown talks” - the list is growing.

Such phrases evoke images of a group of people – players, agents, chairmen, managers – sat around a table sliding pieces of paper with figures on them to each other, to be greeted by a shake of the head and an ‘add a nought on to that and come back, matey.’

Again, the reality is very different.

‘Negotiation’ meetings are often brief, with an agent laying out a player’s demands, and an official (usually the chief executive, the head of recruitment or the director of football) giving the club’s side of things.

Issues which arise during negotiations often relate to, of course, salary, bonuses and signing-on fees, as well as personal and social considerations.

Players often leave the negotiations to their agents, and are kept abreast of the situation from afar. They usually meet with a manager before a deal goes through to discuss how he would fit in at his potential new club - and if they don’t, then they’re taking a huge risk - but in terms of sitting round a negotiating table discussing figures? Rarely.

5. The player's dilemma

This is the age of ‘player power’ in football, and there is little doubt that in transfer deals, it is they who hold the key.

Fair enough, some would say. After all, it is their lives who will change. Considerations for a player prior to a transfer include how much playing time they would get if they moved clubs, whether they would need to re-locate (or learn a new language), whether they would be happy to work for the buying club’s manager and, particularly as you go down the leagues, the length of contract. Players, like anyone, want security.

And, of course, there is also the financial aspect. Wages play a big part in any job decision, and in football the sums are vast, and still on the up.

6. The agents

Often held up as the enemy of football, agents in truth suffer from a familiar problem; the conduct of a few bad apples ruining the whole batch.

In reality, agents are an important part of the game, particularly at this time of year, and good ones are valued, by both players and clubs. As stated, agents can be used by clubs to identify players, or to find clubs for players they are looking to sell. Their network of connections is often a valuable tool for managers, from the highest level down.

They also, theoretically at least, should ensure players are able to focus on their football, without having to concern themselves with contract negotiations and discussions. A good agent should be as much a mentor and a confidante as a negotiator. They earn, mind.

For the 12 months up to September 2015, Premier League clubs paid nearly £120m in agents’ fees - a record - with Swansea paying £4.25m.

Liverpool topped the list, with an outlay of £14,301,464, followed by Manchester United (£13,881,814) and Manchester City (£12,429,380).

7. The media

The relationship between the media and the transfer window is very much love-hate. They love it because the stories keep them knee-deep in copy, but hate it because sifting through the garbage is an arduous and often disheartening process.

Regularly, reporters will receive tip-offs about potential transfers, often via agents but sometimes from other sources.

Every year the number of rumours and the shear amount of speculation on websites increases and it is difficult for fans to work out what is going on at times.

As an example, before the signing of Alberto Paloschi on Friday, more than 20 strikers had been linked with the Swans since January 1. How many of those links had something in them? We'll never really know.

Some of the confusion can be explained by Swansea's extensive scouting system that we mentioned earlier. Scouts working for Swansea regularly watch a lot of players across Europe. As soon as people and media become aware of their presence, you have your transfer link.

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8. The medical & the work permit

The final hurdles in a deal are the medical and, for some players, the work permit. Medicals at top-level clubs are stringent, carried out at the training ground

But as time ticks away on deadline day clubs, naturally, have been known to take gambles. Basically, if both club and player want a deal to go through, then it will.

Work-permits, meanwhile, are needed for any player over the age of 16 who does not own an EU passport.

The buying club, basically, agrees to sponsor the player to be in the UK. A certificate of sponsorship is then produced by the club, which is submitted to the FA. The FA will grant the work permit if the player has played 75% of competitive games for a FIFA-ranked top 70 nation over the past two years.

Failure to meet this requirement will see an application rejected, unless it can be proven a player was unavailable for selection due to injury. A club may appeal if their first application is rejected, with a panel convened to establish whether, in its view, the player’s transfer would be of benefit to the game in the relevant country.

Arsenal, for example, successfully persuaded the panel to grant Gabriel Paulista, an uncapped Brazilian, a work permit for his move from Villarreal last January.

9. Done deal!

And there you have it.

The fee is agreed, the personal terms are agreed, the medical is done. All that remains is to lodge the signed and sealed, finalised paperwork with the Premier League and the FA...

….Oh, and to make sure you get the obligatory smiling photo of the player with his new manager, and his new club’s shirt.

Simple, eh?