In a window when we broke our own transfer record, our outgoing transfer record, and the world record for a defender, the signing of two virtual unknown full-backs is surely only a diet for the Football Manager enthusiast and youth team fanatic. There could not be any more contrast between the apparent deals either: Virgil van Dijk signed for £75m in what now feels like January 2017, rather than only weeks ago; Tony Gallacher, the young Scottish full-back from Falkirk cost £200,000, is now in the u23 squad and has been ‘joined’ by the mysterious deal to sign Anderson Córdoba Arroyo from Fortaleza and loan him out to Mallorca in Spain.

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