This is all about the best football transfer betting sites in the UK right now. Literally hundreds of players move clubs every season in the transfer window, so there’s always a market for those making the switch. Find out which bookies let you wager on their futures.
When it comes to transfer betting on football players, these are our experts’ top five bookies:
We asked our experts for their most important aspects on the best betting sites in the UK relating to player transfers. They created these key criteria so you know what to look out for when taking a punt online:
With football player transfer betting, you wager on where they will be on a certain date. That is usually at the end of the next transfer window. Some bookies allow you to bet on players staying put, while others simply offer a market on their next destination.
If the player in question doesn’t make the move within the allotted transfer window, then wager loses. It’s probably best to see football transfer betting odds as a bit of a novelty away from regular match markets like handicap betting, for example.
Treating it as such is important. Gambling on a player’s future is a fun bet rather than something serious professional punters do. Just because you think they will suit a certain club’s style doesn’t mean they will end up going there within the set timeframe.
In Europe, there are currently two windows in which the latest transfer betting odds apply. These are the January Transfer Window and the Summer Transfer Window. Both are open for a set timeframe, agreed in advance by the Premier League or overseas equivalent and other governing bodies in football.
With Summer transfer betting, the window is longer. All football contracts in English football expire on 30 June but deals can be done in advance of that before becoming official on 1 July. There is then a period of two months where the window is open.
Summer transfer betting comes to a close at the end of August or start of September, depending on what day of the week 31 August falls. In other words, the Transfer Deadline Day isn’t on the same date every year.
January transfer betting happens in a smaller window. As it names suggests, this covers the month of January but could spill over into February, again depending on how dates fall. If 31 January isn’t a business day, then the window extends into the following month.
When you want to take a punt on a footballer changing clubs, just follow this step-by-step guide. Our experts show you how.
Head on over to your chosen betting site. The online bookie we’re using in this example is BetUK. Make sure you’re logged in and have funds in your account.
Different bookies will have their player transfer markets in different places on the sportsbook. With BetUK, they are listed among the outright betting options. On other sites, be aware that transfer betting specials exist. We’re using Cristiano Ronaldo for our example here.
If you fancy Ronaldo to return to Sporting Lisbon where his senior career began, then click the odds from the market. This adds them to your betslip. Now enter your stake, the amount of money you’re willing it wager, view potential payouts or returns, and place your bet!
There are certain markets and bet you can make on footballers if and when they make a transfer between clubs. So that you understand what online bookmakers have in this area better, let’s take a look at the most popular:
There’s nothing football fans like than a good old-fashioned transfer saga. From a betting perspective, however, it can be a real rollercoaster. Will a player stay or will they go? If so, then where?
Our experts discuss some famous footballers and highlight any player transfer betting offered by the bookies on them. Remember these sagas past and present?
As England captain and Spurs’ star striker, Harry Kane has a very high profile. Although he’s remained loyal to the club that gave him his big break, Kane did try to force a move away from Tottenham over the summer of 2021.
Club chairman Daniel Levy drives a notoriously hard bargain, however, and wouldn’t budge. Manchester City were very interested with record goalscorer Sergio Aguero leaving for Barcelona, and quickly became favourites in the Harry Kane transfer betting as a result.
When it became clear that City wouldn’t match Levy’s lofty valuation, Kane had no choice but to knuckle down and stay put at Spurs. His suitors moved on to other target. Kane may well end up remaining at Tottenham for the rest of his career, unless a foreign club comes in for him.
Instead of pursuing Kane, Pep Guardiola and Man City waited a year and went for Norwegian striker sensation Erling Haaland the following summer. His father, Alf, played for the Citizens during a less illustrious period in the club’s history.
Always a potent threat for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, but in the large shadow cast by prolific Poland centre forward Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich, a summer switch to the Etihad helped Haaland become a superstar.
While Manchester United and Real Madrid were also linked, that family connection to City proved decisive. Haaland transfer betting markets soon cottoned on and, with their need for an out-and-out striker to maintain their place at the zenith of English football, a big money move followed.
Unlike some transfers who flop, there was an immediate return on City’s investment. Haaland hit the ground running and then some. He became the first Premier League player to score three consecutive hat-tricks at home and looks set to fire Guardiola’s side to trophies for years to come.
On a few occasions in his illustrious career, Cristiano Ronaldo has been the subject of transfer sagas and speculation. At one stage, he seemed to be set for life at Real Madrid as their record goalscorer and the quintessential Galactico. Ronaldo would rival any modern era Bernabeu icon from David Beckham to Zinedine Zidane.
After nine years in the Spanish capital during the summer of 2018, he left Real Madrid and La Liga for Italian giants Juventus. Ronaldo added two Serie A titles to his CV during three seasons in Turin before a shock return to Manchester United, the club where he became a true star.
They say never go back, and things haven’t really worked out at Old Trafford the second time around. There are even transfer betting odds on where Ronaldo could wind up next after leading Portugal at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar during the unusual slot of November-December.
It’s hard to think of Ronaldo as veteran, or such a legendary player needing a major international tournament as a shop window for his talents. That, nonetheless, is the situation he finds himself in as he prepares for the fifth World Cup of his stellar career.
Cristiano Ronaldo Next Club
BetUK
BoyleSports
Tebwin
BetVictor
To stay at Manchester United
1/5
N/A
N/A
N/A
Chelsea
3/1
2/1
2/1
5/2
Sporting Lisbon
8/1
9/1
8/1
N/A
Atletico Madrid
11/1
25/1
22/1
N/A
Napoli
14/1
N/A
N/A
N/A
Liverpool
N/A
N/A
N/A
16/1
Real Madrid
18/1
N/A
N/A
N/A
Roma
N/A
20/1
N/A
N/A
PSG
N/A
25/1
N/A
N/A
For a long time, it looked very much as though Lionel Messi would be a one-club man at senior level and spend his whole professional career with Barcelona. The Catalan giants’ financial problems ended that, however, when it became clear they didn’t have the money to re-sign Messi even on a reduced contract.
All of a sudden, the Argentina magician was a free agent in the summer of 2021. Where would he go next? A reunion with old Barca boss Guardiola at Man City was mooted but didn’t happen. Messi moved to mega-rich French Ligue 1 outfit PSG instead, linking up with Neymar again.
Since the switch to Paris, he has been used sparingly in the league. The days of Messi banging in 30+ goals per season may be behind, but he’s still a present day footballing icon. That means there is still speculation about him moving on from France elsewhere…
Lionel Messi Next Club
BetUK
To stay at PSG
1/40
Manchester City
9/1
Barcelona
11/1
Chelsea
14/1
Manchester United
16/1
Newcastle United
18/1
Bayern Munich
22/1
Real Madrid
25/1
A wonderkid turned prized asset for Aston Villa in his native Birmingham, Jack Grealish stayed loyal to his boyhood club even when they were relegated. He helped Villa return to the Premier League after three seasons out and re-establish themselves in the English top flight.
Despite making him captain, the sad reality was they couldn’t keep him at Villa Park forever. Man City soon emerged as favourites in the Jack Grealish transfer betting to take him from the West Midlands to Eastlands. His August 2021 move north cost a cool reported £100,000,000.
Grealish, a great dribbler and player for drawing fouls, has been using sparingly by City boss Guardiola since the switch. The price tag didn’t matter to one of the richest football clubs in the world, only that they had his skills at their disposal when called upon by the manager.
One with claims of being the heir apparent to Messi and Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe currently plays with the former at PSG but it has often felt as though he’s in the established superstars’ shadows. A real opportunity to break out and be the main man reportedly came his way during the summer of 2022.
Long coveted by Real Madrid as a natural successor to fellow French forward Karim Benzema, Mbappe transfer betting at one stage suggested a switch to the Bernabeu was a done deal. He had a change of heart about leaving Paris at this stage of his career, however.
Mbappe is yet to reach his prime and where he plays his football in it remains to be seen. Just because he has a new contract, that doesn’t end speculation about his future. Sooner or later, Ligue 1 won’t be enough of a challenge for Mbappe and a move abroad looks inevitable.
Within months of his new deal, cracks already started to appear. Reports that Mbappe is unhappy at PSG resurfaced yet again, so the saga drags on and on. A strong World Cup may reaffirm long-time interest from Real Madrid in Mbappe.
Kylian Mbappe Next Club
BetUK
To stay at PSG
1/20
Real Madrid
7/1
Liverpool
8/1
Chelsea
14/1
Manchester United
16/1
Manchester City
18/1
Barcelona
22/1
Bayern Munich
25/1
If there’s one day that keeps football transfer betting sites busy, then it’s deadline day. Football clubs and agents scramble to get deals done and players moving teams and even countries at the last minute. After all, the January and Summer Transfer Windows aren’t open indefinitely.
Just like any other signing, those made on deadline day can be hugely successful and help revive their new club’s fortunes and fill a gap left by a departed player, or flop and be a failure. With that in mind, here are some of the best and worst last minute football transfers in Premier League history:
Successes: Flops:
When Premier League clubs spend over £1,000,000,000 in total on new players every summer, it’s no wonder that bookmakers offer markets on transfers. The money invested in signings reached new heights in 2022, though, reaching around £1,900,000,000.
Such a vast sum was spent on recruiting 169 new players to grace football’s most lucrative product, the Premier League. With international TV broadcast rights worth billions as well, more cash than ever is floating around in the sport.
As a result of these vast sums spent on new talent, the gap between English football and leagues in Europe grows. That may explain why so many markets and Premier League transfer betting odds include players from the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
All of the top clubs in English football today have to be prepared to spend big to keep up or risk falling behind. That can be easier said than done when some teams have ambitions to build new stadiums or have already moved grounds and must pay for the venues they now call home.
With the Arsenal, it has often been about where players are going in the transfer window rather than new signings. When the Gunners left Highbury for the Emirates Stadium in the summer of 2006, it took several years to pay off their new ground.
For a time, it felt like Arsenal was little more than a feeder club to Manchester City with many of their best players sold to the Citizens when they became a wealthy team. While this prudent financial model prevailed under long-serving manager Arsene Wenger, things have changed since his departure.
The Gunners have broken their record for a signing three times in the last five years. This willingness to spend, in a bid to get back in the Premier League top four and secure Champions League football that goes with it, has breathed new life into Arsenal transfer betting these days.
An excellent start to the 2022-23 season under the management of former Gunners captain Mikel Arteta has also raised expectations in this corner of North London. Arsenal may be on the rise, so expect them to try and pull off some coup captures in the fiercely competitive market moving forward.
Unlike the iconic Anfeld anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone, Liverpool take a very different view when it comes to buying and selling players. Everyone has a price – from Fernando Torres to Luis Suarez, and Philippe Coutinho to Sadio Mane. All starred and excelled on the red half of Merseyside, but eventually were sold.
Despite American investment and successful seasons under managers like Rafa Benitez and Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool haven’t recaptured their status as the dominant force in English football. Memories of their 1980s heyday are beginning to fade with just the one Premier League title so far.
One thing to look out for in Liverpool transfer betting odds is when footballers from South America are linked to the club. The likes of Suarez, Coutinho, Allison, Fabinho, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez have all arrived at Anfield since 2010 with key parts to play.
Liverpool like to develop their own talent as well without relying on dips into the market too heavily. Kop idols like Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and Trent Alexander-Arnold have all come through the ranks in keeping with the Anfield Boot Room tradition that predates the Premier League era.
If there’s one top English club whose policy in the market has attracted the most criticism in recent years, then it’s surely Manchester United. A series of expensive failures and signings made for commercial rather than footballing reasons isn’t a great advert for the Red Devils.
When Sir Alex Ferguson called the shots at Old Trafford, he had one rule. Don’t let any one player get or allow themselves to think they were bigger than the club. That’s why he sold David Beckham to Real Madrid in 2003.
This isn’t Fergie time any more, though. Far from it. Manchester United transfer betting odds show that they still have pulling power, even though there have been a string of managers trying to follow in the footsteps of the iconic Red Devils boss.
Almost as an unintended consequence of their golden era under Ferguson, United often have pay over the odds to get players. For evidence of that, look no further than five major signings made for fees of over £70,000,000 since 2016. That’s the Old Trafford premium.
After years of a frugal policy under unpopular owner Mike Ashley, recent investment from the Middle East is transforming Newcastle United from a club run as a business to a passion project. The Toon Army may soon be roaring back into Europe.
St James’s Park hasn’t always been an attractive destination for footballers despite its vocal home crowd, fierce local rivalries with Middlesbrough and Sunderland, and Tyneside location. Newcastle fans are seldom indifferent to players and managers. They either love them or hate them.
Now that the Magpies have come into money, they’ve made splashes in the market and will continue to make their presence felt. That is why you will find Newcastle transfer betting odds available on players they previously may not have been linked with.
In the calendar year of 2022, they broke their record signing not once, not twice, but three times. That’s a statement of intent from Newcastle and evidence of the stroke their backers have. It’ll be fascinating to see in the coming seasons if their ambitions can be realised.
Even if Tottenham Hotspur chairmen past and present Alan Sugar and Daniel Levy drove hard bargains, they have always been willing to sell players for the right price. Between 2006 and 2013, Spurs saw their record departure ramp up from around £18,500,000 to over £85,000,000.
Star players at the old White Hart Lane like Michael Carrick, Dimitar Berbatov, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale all turned huge profits for the club when leaving. Despite that, financing a new stadium on the same site whilst renting Wembley for home games hasn’t helped Tottenham.
A big money departure from Spurs often meant a scattergun policy when trying to replace talent. When punters consider Tottenham transfer betting markets, the club needs a clear run at recruiting the player in question rather than being dragged into a bidding war.
Willian is a great example of this. The Brazil winger was due to join Spurs yet a better offer tabled at the last minute by Chelsea saw him move to those London rivals. Tottenham do unearth some real gems with Christian Eriksen another example, yet they can’t always compete in the market.
Ever since the first £1,000,000 football transfer in 1979, the cost of signing new players really has spiralled. You can see for yourself below:
Go back to the late 1950s and you could set a world record by signing a player for less than £100,000. How things have changed. Player transfer betting is sealed in terms of millions rather than thousands since the 1970s. Here’s the full progression from 1957 to today:
If you’re betting on football transfers, we’ve already advised caution. Seemingly done deals can collapse at the last minute for all kinds of reason. An eleventh hour offer from a bigger club may come from nowhere, or a player might fail their medical or to agree personal terms.
Be smart when wagering in the markets discussed above and also take our experts up on their advice. We’ve listed the best of that below for your reference:
There are entire gossip columns in the press and online dedicated to the latest transfer rumours. Much of what’s written in these is pure speculation, made up by journalists on quiet news days. You need to treat the rumour mill carefully, because believing it could end up costing you money when betting on transfers.
Unless circumstances force them into leaving, established football stars with high profiles are already at top clubs. That makes it harder to predict their next moves. With younger players, perhaps those in the Championship who are hungry to impress and climb the ladder, however, you’re more likely to find value bets in the market. You never know, they may even end up replacing big names.
As with any form of gambling, betting on transfers requires punters to check the markets regularly. If one club emerges as a potential destination for a player, then the bookies will shorten their odds of moving there as a result. Be ahead of the curve if you can, but if not remember there comes a point where any wager loses it value because the price is too short.
Now that you know what the best football transfer betting sites in the UK are, all the remains is to take a punt or two that appeals. Remember, you aren’t just limited to wagers while the window is open. BetUK are our top dogs for betting on football transfers with good reason.