Waiting for the transfer merry-go-round to gather momentum, waiting for the recruitment drive to get out of first gear.

There's no getting away from the fact it's been rather quiet on the Premier League transfer front so far.

The eagerly-anticipated avalanche of big-money signings during the long summer months has yet to occur.

Pompey's glorious May 17 FA Cup triumph marked the end of the season – but ever since clubs have been noticeably reticent to put their hands in their pockets.

Before Chelsea's capture of Deco yesterday, a paltry 10 players had been signed by Premier League outfits – and four of those were by Fulham.

Even more of a surprise is just five of them had actually involved transfer fees.

Pompey fans may query a lack of new faces arriving on the south coast at present, but the upshot of it all is there are not many arriving anywhere.

The distraction of the European Championships coupled with the need for the footballing world to take a holiday has seen the transfer system grind to a halt.

At least Pompey have signed Glen Little – 14 fellow top-flight clubs have yet to recruit anyone. And to think, it's back to work for them all next week as pre-season training resumes.

Still, amid the lull there are at least some clubs who have bucked the curious trend and, in particular, the unlikely form of Bolton.

The Trotters' purchase of Swedish international Johan Elmander from Toulouse currently lead the way in the Premier League in a deal reported to be a club-record £10m.

Gary Megson also raided relegated Birmingham for midfielder Fabrice Muamba in a £5m deal, while Arsenal maintained their policy of investing in youth after winning the hard-fought race to capture Aaron Ramsey for £5m.

Rivals Spurs splashed the cash on Mexican attacker Giovani Dos Santos from Barcelona – and Croatian playmaker Luka Modric was already snapped up in a £16.5m deal from Dinamo Zagreb before the season was out.

So far, the only other player attracting a Premier League transfer fee was former Darlington goalkeeper David Stockdale, a £350,000 signing by Fulham.

Roy Hodgson's side have also welcomed Andranik Teymourian (Bolton), Zoltan Gera (West Brom) and Mark Schwarzer (Middlesbrough) – all on free transfers.

As for Liverpool, another club expected to spend big, their only confirmed recruit is Swiss defender Philipp Degen on a free from Borussia Dortmund.

Completing the six clubs who have so far entered the transfer market are Pompey, following Little's arrival barely 12 days ago.

It's been a quiet opening to the transfer window for a league flush with cash.

But with Euro 2008 over, and players arriving back from their holidays, expect the real deals to start very soon...