The Premier League has agreed to move the summer transfer window to before the start of the season in what could be a huge blow for some clubs.
2024/25 summer transfer window saw Premier League clubs sign new players while some players were shipped out of the league. The transfer window shut on August 30 but that might not be the case next season.
The Premier League has teamed up with Europe’s other leading leagues to ensure that the transfer window for next summer closes before the season begins.
The European Club Association (ECA), which represents clubs from England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France, is dedicated to setting a deadline day that will prevent clubs from trading players once the new season has commenced.
It is hoped that this move will put pressure on the rest of Europe to follow suit, as clubs from the top five leagues will be unable to sign new players once their seasons start.
A proposal to standardise deadline day this summer fell through when La Liga withdrew their support due to pressure from Barcelona. The Catalan giants are in a financial crisis and needed more time to raise funds for new signings like Dani Olmo.
However, the ECA now has a general agreement in place to synchronise transfer deadline day across Europe. The idea has gained increasing support, according to former Sunderland director Chris Woerts, who has become a key figure in the Dutch Eredivisie.
Woerts revealed: “The clubs are working hard to get the decision made on this within the entire ECA. Next year the transfer window must close on August 15, before the leagues kick off.
“Everyone is getting frustrated and annoyed by the fact that players are still being sold for weeks while the competitions have started,” reports the Mirror.
“One major club in Spain caused a problem so it couldn’t happen this year. That was FC Barcelona. Because of all their financial problems they were not able to make moves on the transfer market until a very late stage. So they broke the pact of the ‘Big Five’.”
If the ECA get their way, next time around the transfer window will slam shut before the first whistle blows.
