A positive summer recruitment drive can be the difference between a successful campaign and a season in the doldrums.
In the Premier League especially, where fees are inflated beyond all logic and competition for top talent can be fierce, the line between securing the right deals and falling completely flat can often be a very fine one.
As such, thinking outside the box can often be a tactic that is worth its proverbial weight in gold.
With that in mind, we’ve taken a look at all 20 current top flight clubs, and pulled together a handy suggestions guide on the unorthodox signings they could, and perhaps should, look to make in the coming months...
1. Arsenal - Gunnersaurus
Give him a professional contract, you cowards!
2. Aston Villa - Chris Hughes
Maybe he could come in, rap, lift the mood around the Villa a little bit? After their recent slump in form, Steven Gerrard’s men could certainly do with a bit of light relief.
3. Brentford - Imhotep
Second season syndrome is a real affliction, and who better to help Brentford instil some stability and longevity than the man who designed the very first pyramid? Interesting aside, the actual Imhotep was seemingly a pretty stand up guy by all accounts, nothing like the topless menace who makes Brendan Fraser’s life a misery in The Mummy. Those damn Hollywood execs, tinkering with broadly accepted Egyptology for the sake of a good story.
4. Brighton - Dog the Bounty Hunter
If Brighton have one consistent foible, it’s their lack of predatory instinct in crucial moments. Dog has no such issue. Bring him in and stick him up top with Danny Welbeck.