This week, the football transfer window opened across Europe. Whilst it had been open in Britain for a few weeks, deals between clubs happen all over the continent, and we’re starting to see the effects of that as players move between clubs.

What does that mean for the digital world? Well, as a result, football clubs have been trying their best to use these events as a chance to get creative on social media – signing a player is always an exciting thing for fans, and cashing in on that sweet fan engagement is an important issue for social media teams across the world.

Liverpool, Aston Villa and AS Roma showed thought and planning had gone into their output this week as all three announced their new signings in novel ways, teasing their fans before the big reveal:

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— Liverpool FC (@LFC) June 22, 2017

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— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) July 3, 2017

????⚽️… ????????????❗️#ASRoma pic.twitter.com/mjgBrwduHV

— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) June 30, 2017

Perhaps the most impressive, though, came from League Two club Yeovil Town. Even despite their low position compared to the others – remember, even if Villa are a Championship club, they’ve still won a European Cup – Yeovil have shown that innovation and creativity are possible whatever your size.

The new @Snapchat feature is pretty cool. You can see who's at Huish Park…✍️⚽️???? #YTFC pic.twitter.com/YhFHRd7wM0

— Yeovil Town FC (@YTFC) June 26, 2017

World Cup highlights on social media?

With the new football season almost upon us, that also means the World Cup is just around the corner. Sure, it’s a year away, but such a big event takes months of planning. Given that, Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter are reportedly attempting to add highlights of the event to their platforms as social media giants look to grab more and more sporting events to attract people to their sites and apps.

These are US rights to the highlights, and the social media companies are trying to buy them from broadcaster Fox, but this is still a sign that social media platforms and sports video are a pair that doesn’t look like breaking up any time soon.

Digital Sport Podcast

This week, Dan McLaren sat down with Luke Matthews, head of content at Goal studios, where they talked about the changing digital landscape, a unique publisher in Goal, and Matthews’ fairly unique love of Croatian football, too.