Peterborough United chairman reveals the cost of a ‘great’ transfer window for his club

The deadline day arrival of Coventry ended a six-week pursuit by Posh for a high-class defensive midfielder with a wide passing range.

MacAnthony was happy enough to make public the nitty gritty of his club’s work in the summer transfer window.

MacAnthony revealed...

** 9 signings made, including three for the under 23 squad.

** 9 new contracts signed.

** 6 players sold, loaned or released.

** Kept hold of key players

** £2.2 million spent on transfer fees.

** £1.4 million generated in sales so a -£800k spend

** Average age of squad 23.4

Posh hopes had been up and down as far as signing Coventry was concerned.

They had a gentleman’s agreement with Hammers owner David Sullivan in place at the end of July stating Posh would be the priority destination for Coventry.

But the move was contingent on West Ham recruiting in midfield areas and when Coventry started playing well for the Premier League club’s first team in pre-season and then made the substitutes’ bench for the first three competitive matches of the 2021-22 campaign Posh feared they would miss out on their number one target.

But when the Hammers signed midfielder Alex Kral from Spartak Moscow, Posh received the green light to sign Coventry. It meant a frantic dash to get the relevant papers signed before the player left the country with Ireland Under 21s, but the deal was eventually done.

“I’m very happy,” MacAnthony enthused. “We’ve had a great transfer window.”