I agree with this. I don't understand at all why clubs are so relaxed about signing players for a whole window and then go mad on the last couple of days. As for the original point I agree with the OP on that too, maybe not 5 minutes but surely they could meet up and discuss terms over half a day maximum? Why should it ever take that long to agree a contract, does this happen in other industries? I know there's various clauses and it's not just a case of a transfer fee and wage but even then it should be a lot quicker than the week-long things we see in football, shouldn't it?
On 23 k per week, he could still live in London, rent a chopper every day and still be at training on time. Maybe the clubs haggling over who's paying to build the helicopter pad in Cottingham ?
A lot of London clubs have training grounds outside London so you can live somewhere nice and still get to meetings with sponsor or friends easily.
You have to see what one club will do for you and then check with other clubs ad finitum. There's always a chance of getting a better deal at the last minute when a club panics and/or a player becomes desperate. I still don't see the point of a transfer window. You wouldn't have so many players not playing if a club had the opportunity to sign players when they needed them rather than just in case one of ten things happened before the next transfer window.