A World Cup is an important and consuming time in a player’s career.Those six weeks are often a defining period, where full focus is needed and distractions are unnecessary. Yet it does not stop the transfer window cogs from whirring — with Elliot Anderson’s record-breaking move proof of that — and the groundwork involved tends to take place behind the scenes.The Athletic has spoken to multiple agents and recruitment figures to learn how a transfer materialises during football’s biggest competition.“Things can go very quickly even though the World Cup is on,” says one agent who, like others in this article, is speaking anonymously to protect relationships.The school of thought among agents is that they should not overly worry their clients before or during a World Cup, but they will update them on discussions.How much or little an agent discloses depends on the player’s personality and whether the possibility of a move could perturb them. In the main, they would have agreed beforehand whether a transfer was viable and where they could go, with the player leaving it to the agent to handle business. For this World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, most agents will be determined to travel and watch their clients’ matches, so they will send a message of good luck before a game and meet them afterwards.”Everyone seems to be away at the World Cup,” says an agent with several Premier League players, who is back in England. “But it doesn’t stop Zooms or phone calls.”Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app“The World Cup doesn’t change much,” adds one agent who has a player that may prove to be one of the summer’s biggest Premier League sales. “Agents still talk to clubs. Medicals can be done abroad. Players will know everything that goes on, even if they say they don’t.”In reality, a player is not particularly involved in the minutiae of negotiations but will receive general updates. A significant chunk of the groundwork is between a player’s representative and the buying club, with salary, bonus demands, and the structure of payment largely discussed in the weeks and months before.Once this has been largely agreed and a transfer fee has been struck with the selling club, the only thing needed from the player is to complete a medical and sign the paperwork.All parties will have to seek permission from the national team, but the tests themselves do not take long and are usually authorised, with one common pushback from countries being if a player is required to leave the training base.“You have the sports lawyer checking the contract, the strategy of negotiation, and once it’s done, even if the player is at an international competition, you have to arrange the medical,” says one French agent. “Whether that’s directly in the city where they are staying and bringing the club doctor to the hotel or, if the country allows, driving the player to a place where the club’s doctor can come.”Though not within a World Cup setting, in August 2017, France head coach Didier Deschamps insisted no player was allowed to leave their Clairefontaine HQ to complete a transfer.“The reality is that, timeline-wise, we are only finalising things club to club while our targets are at the World Cup,” says a recruitment figure at one of the Premier League’s traditional ‘Big Six’ clubs. “This is opposed to being at the beginning of the process and engaging in meetings with players and negotiating personal terms while they are there.”If possible, clubs will work faster to complete a move before the World Cup starts, as shown by a Wolverhampton Wanderers delegation flying to Mexico to finalise free agent Raul Jimenez’s return ahead of their World Cup opener.Mexico’s Raul Jimenez will be going back to Wolves (Carl Recine/Getty Images)Other free agents moved in the days leading up to the tournament, including Ibrahima Konate and Bernardo Silva to Real Madrid. Clearly, this is made easier because the agreement is only between the player and one club, rather than two.“The main difference for a player at a World Cup is that you can do a medical anywhere in the world if you have trusted people (to do it),” continues the recruitment figure. “If you tried to sign a player from scratch while they were there, it could be a non-starter as they’d want to be left undisturbed.”A recent case is Liverpool’s signing of Spain international Victor Munoz from Osasuna. The move developed quickly after Liverpool triggered his €40million (£35m; $46m) release clause.Munoz completed his medical in Tennessee, where Spain are based, shortly afterwards. Liverpool’s staff, led by director of medicine and performance Jonathan Power, chief scout Barry Hunter, and head of performance physical therapy Chris Morgan, were granted permission by the Spanish Football Federation to travel and oversee tests.Similarly, Spain also authorised Marc Cucurella’s €60m transfer to Real Madrid.“Everything was done in a day and a half or two days,” Cucurella told El Mundo. “Much better, much faster, without any headaches.”Uncertainty encompassed their end to the season, but Tottenham Hotspur had long greased the wheels for their summer activity. They recruited free agents Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi on the eve of the tournament, having agreed personal terms with both players in the month before.As for Jan Paul van Hecke, Spurs were required to negotiate a fee with Brighton & Hove Albion. This delayed a move that could not be finalised until the defender was away with the Netherlands. It was only following their World Cup opener that the £52million fee was agreed.From there, Spurs’ only priority was to ensure they could dispatch trusted staff to do the medical, which ultimately took place in Kansas. Spurs staff flew out to oversee the process, keen to avoid taking up too much time or disrupting the Netherlands’ preparations. Argentina defender Marcos Senesi is joining Tottenham Hotspur (Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)“It’s not easy when the player is playing the World Cup, but once the market is open, we know that the registration will be OK,” says the French agent. “But before the World Cup, it can be a short or long process.“To move quickly, the former club will share all the medical records of the player with their new side. To avoid interference, the player can officially sign the contract via DocuSign and pose for photos once they are actually at the club, or they can sign face-to-face at the hotel and have pictures then. That second option is usually the way during a World Cup.”It should not be assumed, however, that all nations permit players to engage in a possible move. It is understandable if national team managers seek pre-emptive rules in place, worried about disturbing the equilibrium.Before the tournament, England head coach Thomas Tuchel explained that while he would not block players from completing transfers, any move could not interfere with preparations.“It’s about common sense,” Tuchel said in his first press conference in the States. “I would not like (transfer business being done on) the day before a match, or on a matchday, that’s the policy. Maybe two days before, too, but let’s see.“But everything else — if it’s done privately, efficiently and quietly — we are always happy to help. It helps to have clarity around any player. If anyone has a chance to complete a change of club, we will not stand in their way.”Tuchel’s reasoning is pertinent for several of his players. Talks had been taking place between Manchester City and the representatives of midfielder Elliot Anderson for a number of weeks, and although he said the growing noise over his future did not distract him, any progress on the deal would have to be carefully navigated. As it transpired, a fee was agreed on Thursday evening, with England granting a medical to take place in New York on Friday morning. The same may be true for Marcus Rashford, John Stones and Morgan Rogers, who is wanted by multiple Premier League and European clubs monitoring his situation through intermediaries. Aston Villa are using Anderson and his price as a gauge for Rogers’ sale, so the two players shared comparable situations in going into an international tournament, but the Villa star is having to wait and see what could materialise later in the summer.“I’m always there to help, to calm things down,” Tuchel continued. “We should help them have their own environment where they can handle the distraction and dive in, concentrate and do the most to fulfil the role we have made for them. I can see the distraction if clubs want to sign you, and sporting directors, agents and coaches are trying to get you on the phone. It’s a reality.“We will always recommend that a player decide before a tournament starts, as early as possible, but it’s not always possible. We’re not alone in this, it’s just how it plays out.”Anderson’s potential replacement at Nottingham Forest could be Lucas Bergvall. The Athletic reported Bergvall has told Spurs he wishes to leave, a message that was surely relayed via representatives while he participates with Sweden at the World Cup. This is an example of an agent knowing their player’s feelings and, in turn, being left to negotiate a transfer while they focus on playing. “Doing a transfer is more or less the same thing,” says one agent involved with several high-profile players. “It is a bit more delicate, depending on players’ availability and the game schedule, but if there is serious interest, things go ahead.”Other agents, who have players at the World Cup and lower down the English Football League, say there is a “blockage” starting at the top levels, with the inactivity filtering downwards in the market.This is partly a consequence of the June 30 deadline for most clubs’ financial year-end, with many teams preferring to spend after. This means that most background discussions take place in the early weeks of the World Cup, and once July rolls around, activity will pick up.“It’s calm in every country,” says one international agent. “Everything will happen in August because most players are in the U.S., and it’s too complicated for any new clubs entering the process to present a project. Also, most clubs need to sell before buying, so we need to see which teams start the process. There are also lots of new coaches in many clubs in Europe, so they need time to decide the target.”“Talks can happen between clubs and agents, but the selling club can move the goalposts due to performances on the global stage,” adds one agent. “They will then move the goal posts of a fee (demand a higher fee).”Selling clubs explain to agents that if their clients were to leave, it would likely be toward the end, or after, the World Cup. As archaic as it may seem, given the wealth of data and long-term tracking that suitors put into scouting a player, it is in the hope that impressive performances during a tournament can increase the fee received.Equally, there is a danger that a World Cup is a prolonged time away from their club. This can be unsettling, keenly underlined by Argentina forward Julian Alvarez publicly admitting he wished to leave Atletico Madrid after Argentina’s 2-0 victory against Austria.International team-mates may be told to put in a good word, provided their own team has made it known they want a certain player in their squad.These are the small, discreet talks that take place during a World Cup, away from prying eyes and public attention. It is once those discussions have progressed to a point where the medical and final bits of paperwork need to be completed that there is a crossover between a player’s club and country.