hate the transfer time :(

Well, I know it's one of best times for FM players, the transfers time. Making deals, signing new players, all very nice. I have finished 3rd with my Real Betis and the board gave me 15 M to spend. Thought I could get more. Anyway, I thought as I am improving side I'd change from narrow playing(defensive style) team into team with wingers etc. So decided to sign some wingers as I had none before. Of course I can sign no one because teams require crazy amounts of cash for their players. I hate it. The time is passing and I am playing friendlies with old players, the pressure is pilling on me. As I am going to play 3 different competitions this season I need at least 4 new players(wingers) Has anyone ever felt the same and can share some suggestions, please ?

They're good and bad, all depends how your team is.

For me playing in mediocre eastern european leagues a lot they're great at the start of the game but once my club is best in the nation they turn into a desperate attempt to keep hold of my players fending off offers until the timer runs out. Its a time of opportunity, make the most of it.

As for you, if you can't find the wingers good enough then give up play like before or make an asymetric formation to push up only one side with a winger so you don't need as many.

first thing i do when on a tight budget and looking for some new talent is change the filter to players who have a contract soon expiring (6-12 months), put a few offers in for any talent i see, then change the filter to transfer and loan listed players, and if that fails, i'll start going through international sides u21 teams for any bargains

Teams don't like to sell players unless they're unneeded, so they charge 3 times the amount. Always try looking for transfer listed players first as those are the ones that the teams don't need so they're being sold at bargain prices. Extremly rich clubs going through "upgrade" periods are usually trying to get rid of players from earlier steps of the said "upgrade". Man City is in that state for example and is trying to get rid of several decent players. Other then that, just scout a lot, you'll find more options and some of them will be cheaper then others depending on where they play at and how much their team needs them. Signing a player other team considers it's star will be extremely expensive, signing a player the other team does not need and is trying to get rid of will be extremely cheap, but there are lots of shades of gray in the middle: first teamer, rotation player, backup. Players that are playing on the reserve team are usually cheaper, so check 2nd/Reserve teams for Barca and RM for example.

I actually hate the transfer period for the exact opposite reason: everyone seems to come in for my wingers, and think they can get them for their market value, eventhough they are marked as indispensible.

My tactic for signing players, has changed since a couple CMs ago, when scouting got a major boost: Only look at the potential ability the scout comes up with. It has been tuned down a little since, but you'll find that in 75% of the cases, the scout will find you players which, given some time and 1st team experience, will turn into beauties. Then of course, you'll end up with the problem I started out with.

Another nice thing with this strategy is that you will be able to sign most of them cheaply. Only disadvantage, is that you pretty much need to do this year after year for like 5 seasons, to end up with a good rotation. If you start with this way of signing now, you'll need a couple years before you get players which are good enough to be 1st team regulars. If you stick with it though, you'll quickly find a way to spice up your transfer budget into the 100 millions, as you are getting players for almost nothing, and you are (forced to, thank you board) selling them of 5 years later for profit.

Edit: Note that this strategy will work best in smaller leagues, where you are competing with teams that don't have Messi or Christiano Ronaldo running around in them. Thank god I usually play my domestic belgian league, where this playstyle is mighty unbalanced when you look at the financial side.