AT the risk of bringing the more nervous of you out in a cold sweat, I just want to remind you that by this time next week all the window shopping will be over.
No matter whether your team have found that desperately needed defender or centre-forward, all deals will be off from 6pm next Wednesday when the transfer window slams shut.
It is quite strange how the final evening of player wheeler-dealing has become every bit as anticipated as the opening day's fixtures.
Sky Sports, with their round the clock updates and funky hi-tech gimmicks, have revolutionised the occasion to make it into a special night, football's equivalent of New Year's Eve.
It always seems bizarre to me that so many deals are left right until the very final moments before the 6pm deadline on August 31. Some, as in the case of Arsenal recruit Andrei Arshavin a couple of years ago, even happen the day after the deadline.
Also at this time of year there seems to be this magical number two being touted by most managers – as in the number of players they need to turn their ordinary team into a winning outfit.
I'm not sure where the number comes from, but unless the players in question are Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, I am not particularly convinced by their theory.
Having made some clever free signings during the close season, Stoke now have less than a week to land one of their bigger targets as they look forward to a busy season.
It is obvious if Stoke want to be competitive on all fronts that they need to beef-up the squad with quality additions.
The likes of Wilson Palacios, Peter Crouch and Shaun Wright-Phillips have been mentioned.
It is well known in football circles that Harry Redknapp and Tony Pulis are old friends, but I can tell you when it comes to buying his players TP will find Harry, pictured right, a very different beast to deal with.
Yet if Pulis can find a way to navigate his way through his mate's patter to secure the two Tottenham players he will have done some really good business.
Personally, I think Palacios would certainly give a strength and presence to the central midfield area. And you can just tell from his spell as a player at Wigan he is a real worker for the team. He won't be coming in as a big time Charlie.
Dependant on price, Crouch would also offer a great option for Stoke as a team that prides itself on getting lots of crosses into the opposition penalty box.
But for those who have seen him play over the years, Crouch at 6ft 7in is something of a contradiction, probably better technically on the ground than he is when attacking things in the air.
His real worth to a Stoke team, beyond the obvious goal threat, would be his ability to retain possession of the ball through winning headers, or at least making sure the defenders have a tough time getting the ball out of the danger areas.
Somehow the Wright-Phillips transfer seems the most unlikely.
I would imagine the wages would be the first stumbling block and beyond that, in Jermaine Pennant and Matt Etherington Stoke are very well served with wide men.
I am not convinced that the introduction of a SWP-type would create the right chemistry as both of Stoke's current wingers seem to have flourished knowing they are the team's big players.
The mental knock of not being a first choice player again, could seriously affect their performances.
Which brings me to my final point that Pulis has to remain ever vigilant that any player who he looks to add to his squad has to fit in with the personality of his existing dressing room.
It might be tempting to go back in for Carlton Cole at West Ham or Cameron Jerome at Birmingham.
But somehow my gut tells me the refusal to get the deal done earlier in the transfer window by both Cole and Jerome suggests neither player has fully bought in to what playing for Stoke City means.
source: thisisstaffordshire
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