With all league competition complete, the summer months give way to the most important season, some say, which of course is the summer transfer season. This is a time when any team with money in their bank account has an opportunity to improve their squad.  It is also a time when a player on a downtrodden team has the possibility of emancipation to a club with championship aspirations. But for all of the entertainment that all of these transfer rumors may bring, is there a point of diminishing returns?  Can too much of a good thing be, well, too much?

For the past few weeks all soccer fans have been hearing about the possibility of Modric to Chelsea, Sanchez to Manchester City, and Fabregas to Barcelona.  All of which could be true, but more likely, each has a slim chance of actually becoming true.   This is where I get truly tired of the rumor mill, having to read a series a lies before the facts and the deals are done.  Obviously, the summer transfer window is much like playing cards.  For example, Sir Alex Ferguson is not going to come right out to the papers and give away specific dollar amounts for the players he is interested in.  With that said, Ferguson might talk about a player that Arsenal is after just to raise the price a bit and stick it to the Gunners.  So I understand where and why the rumors start.

There are some people that thoroughly enjoy reading and discussing transfers because any soccer talk is good talk, especially being that there are no matches being played at this time.  I admit, that I have found myself thinking about what Manchester United would look like if Nasri found himself there or how unstoppable Barcelona would be if Thiago Silva ends up at Camp Nou.  But those quickly dissipate when there are ten more rumors about these players proclaiming where they might end up.  It has gotten to the point that I don’t believe any deal is done until I see the player being introduced to the media with a jersey in hand and his signature on a contract.  Even then with my cynical attitude, I may still not believe it until I see that player run on the pitch with his new squad.

The advent of the Internet has aided in the rumor mill to getting out of control.  To prepare for this article, I searched through various team’s message boards.  In one, there was a long string of discussions about how the Red Devils were on the verge of signing Modric, Alexis Sanchez, Ashley Young, and possibly Neymar from Santos.  Now, I am not going to say that it won’t happen, but the chances that United have the cash and roster spots for all of those players is very slim.  These types of things used to be bandied about among friends in a pub somewhere, but now with the Internet a rumor can spread from London to Los Angeles quite quickly.  It can also be added to and altered several times throughout its route.

Transfer rumors can add a bit of entertainment, especially in the soccer-less days of summer, but the sheer volume can be overwhelming sometimes.  I have resigned myself to checking in on the transfer market every couple of weeks or so just to see if there have been any moves.  But more often than not, it is just more speculation and hearsay.  So if there is a transfer rumor, but no one is around to hear it, is it really a rumor?