If you want to SELL these players, they have to be under contract. Once that contract expires, you can't get money for them, they will become free agents. So if you want money for them, you'll either have to sell them today, or else renew their contract next season and then sell them.
LONDON CITY
Olympic Stadium...East London
Season 47...........Manager Level 33
So this 7-day window is almost like a restricted free agent period (much like the NBA)? So the positives are:
1) during the first 7 days of the new season, nobody can sign him except you
2) gives you some time to calibrate your team's needs by evaluating the transfer market
3) effectively extend the new contract by 1 year. In other words, if you wanted to sign him all along, by waiting to sign him in the first 7 days of the new season (e.g. Season 2 is new season), the new contract will expire at the end of season 4 (instead of end of season 3 if you had signed him at the end of Season 1).
Is that correct?