Life as a Wag in the transfer windowImage source, Jessica BeaumontBySimon CassonBBC Sport senior journalistPublished30 minutes ago”Owen was on the phone to the manager and his agent while I was in labour. They waited for me to give birth and then he went out on loan pretty much as soon as I was out of hospital.”Owen Dale’s loan deal wasn’t to a local club, but to Portsmouth – a city more than 200 miles away. His partner, Jessica Beaumont, had never even been there.And the pair had only just got the keys to a house they had bought. They would end up staying in it for just one night.”Since living together, we’ve moved five times in five years,” says Jessica.”You have to be prepared for anything in the transfer window. But it’s also a really fortunate position to be in at a young age.”This period – when clubs are permitted to buy, sell and loan players – takes place twice a year, in January and during the summer, for clubs in the Premier League, the English Football League (EFL) and the Women’s Super League (WSL). While a select few stay in one place throughout their career, for most players moving from club to club is just part of life in the modern game. Jessica met Owen when he was at Crewe Alexandra. A move to Blackpool soon followed. “I didn’t get together with him because he was a footballer so I never considered the footballer life – that he might just have to move at the last minute,” she says. “We just met and we clicked.” But it soon became apparent that dealing with almost constant uncertainty would be part of that life. The move to Blackpool was a loan, with an option to buy, so for six months – during which Jessica was pregnant with their son Xavier – they did not know whether he would be staying there or heading back to Crewe. Blackpool decided to sign Owen, but he was soon out on loan again. This isn’t uncommon, with loan deals a way for clubs to help young prospects gain first-team experience and get regular playing time elsewhere.”When the move to Portsmouth happened it really hit me – I had to quickly realise that ‘OK this is now my life’,” says Jessica.Just before Owen’s loan deal to Portsmouth the couple had bought their first house together in Congleton – a town close to Jessica’s family in Stoke on Trent, and commutable to Blackpool.”We spent one night in there – we hadn’t even unpacked,” she says.They decided a 10-hour round trip on Owen’s day off in the week to see his newborn son was not an option.”We thought ‘if he’s not playing well because he’s tired, what’s the point in doing this’?” says Jessica, who adds that they ended up renting out the Congleton house and have been living in rented accommodation themselves ever since. She also had to quit her job.”I was finishing my law degree and had a job at the time – I had to say to them I wouldn’t be coming back from maternity leave,” she says. Post-natal complications also made it difficult for her to travel at the time.”I had Owen on the phone basically saying, ‘I’ve done a couple of house viewings. I’ve chosen this one. This is where we’re going to be living’ and showing me on FaceTime,” she recalls. “In that moment I did feel really out of control.”Uprooting her life at short notice and leaving her family behind was challenging and Jessica remembers spending a lot of time alone in Portsmouth when Owen was at away games. But she remembers lots of positives from that time too, including when she became friends with another player’s partner.”I was so fortunate that she would often stay with me when Owen was away,” she says. “I say to her all the time that I’ll appreciate that time forever because I was just so isolated.”Our schedules were the same – when Owen went away her partner was also away – I didn’t have to be fully alone and she got it.”Image source, Jessica BeaumontImage caption, Owen made 28 appearances for Plymouth Argyle last seasonOwen, now 27, has played most of his career in League One, with two stints in the Championship when we was with Blackpool and Oxford United.Last season was spent on loan at Plymouth Argyle and he is currently a free agent – this means he is not tied to any club by a legal contract. Owen can now join a new team without a transfer fee because no former employer owns his registration rights.Many of his moves have been on deadline day and he says he is “very aware of the sacrifices” his family make.”There’s always the risk that a move might not work,” he says. “So I might uproot my whole family for this next venture and it all goes south.”Over the years I’ve learned that until there’s a contract signed on the dotted line, you could end up anywhere.”Image gallerySkip image gallery
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Image source, Jessica Beaumont
Image caption, Owen went on loan to Portsmouth in 2022 just days after Jessica gave birth to Xavier
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Slide 1 of 5, Owen Dale pictured with his partner Jessica and son Xavier after he signed for Portsmouth F.C., Owen went on loan to Portsmouth in 2022 just days after Jessica gave birth to Xavier
