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PICTURED: August's Camino Fantasy Football League Winner, Michael Bell.

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​SUMMER'S transfer window did not disappoint the Premier League's global fanbase.

 As expected, the league's elite clubs were not shy on splashing the cash on marquee players or bolstering their rotation options.

Premier League transfer spend topped a new record of £6bn (The Guardian) - Pep Guardiola's Manchester City escalated their total transfer spend to £1.7bn since their takeover more than a decade ago (The Sun).

And Saudi Arabia investors splashed the cash to contribute £700m (The Independent) to this years whopping £6bn total outlay on new players - affirming the Premier League as the world's 'wealthiest league' by transfer spend, as well as being the most globally popular.

So the 2023/24 season was bound to be kick off with a bang.

Major transfers included Declan Rice from West Ham United to Arsenal and league icons like Manchester City playmaker, IIkay Gundogan, depart the premier league for his manager's old haunt, La Liga giants Barcelona, after City lifted their first much sought-after Champions League trophy earlier in August.

With the 23/34 season now in full swing, Camino Partners' fantasy football league is also back for 2023/24 - and it's also not too late to join for a chance to win a great list of prizes (details below)

The league, run monthly by Matt Newman, Camino Partners' Managing Director, offers candidates and clients working within recruitment businesses the opportunity to compete in a monthly competition for monthly prizes, as well as an end of season cash prize.

 Matt caught up with our inaugural August League Winner, Michael Bell to find out more about his experiences of working in recruitment and with Fantasy Football and discovering some his routines and tips for monthly success.

 Michael, a Liverpool FC fan, gives an insight into his career in recruitment and a few quick tips for fantasy football success this month.

 Matt Newman (MN): "How did you get into the recruitment industry and how long have you worked in the sector?"

Michael Bell (MB) "Like many people, I fell into it. After completing a law degree at university, the first role offered to me was as a Legal Intern for the parent company of a global group of recruitment companies. I've been working in the sector for almost 11 years."

MN: "What’s the best thing about working in the recruitment industry?"

MB: "The people you meet along the way. I’ve been lucky to work for some great companies with even better people."

MN: "How many people in your company play in our league?"

MB: "It's just myself from ROC Search."

MN: "Who would you nominate as an Unsung hero in your businesses support function?"**

MB: "Josh Chamberlain, our desktop support engineer. He has one of the most important and stressful roles in the business and not many people work harder than him."

MN: "How many years have you been playing Fantasy League (FPL) and what's your highest ranking?

MB "I've been playing fantasy football for nine years, since 2014. I actually reached 15,000 a few years ago.

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MN: "What made you engage with/join the Camino Partners Fantasy Football League?"

MB: "Most of my other mini leagues are made up of sales people so I thought it would make a nice change!"

MN: "How much time do you put in weekly into picking your team and playing the game?"

MB: "I’ll usually spend around 15 minutes each Friday afternoon tinkering with the team."

MN: "Who’s your favourite football team/player?"

MB: "Liverpool & Alisson Becker."

MN: "Where do you think The Reds will finish this year?"

MB: "Realistically, I think a top four finish has to be the goal."

 MN: "Did Liverpool have a good transfer window? What did you make of the transfer window for your team/club and how would you rate it out of ten?"

 MB: "I’d give it 7 out of 10. We made some top signings but didn’t strengthen the defence. There was an ongoing saga with Caicedo and Lavia was a bit embarrassing!"

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 Terms and conditions:

League members must be working in the recruitment sector in a non-recruiter role, to enter (IE: a back office support role, business owner, or similar). Monthly prizes of up to £20 awarded at close of month. £350 awarded to the annual league winner. Camino Partners reserves the right to add and remove to remove/add participants from the league. a UK bank account is also required.