FIFA have announced a change to their rules that will allow the Football Association to open the summer transfer window before the 2019/20 season finishes.
The Premier League will return in under a week on June 17, with the Championship set to follow suit on June 20.
With England’s top two domestic leagues not set to finish their seasons until late July or early August, the start and end dates of the transfer window are uncertain.
However, FIFA announced two important regulations changes on Thursday afternoon. The first of which will allow players to now play for three different clubs within the same season.
The second will allow any club that operates their season in a dual year, which includes all of England’s leagues, to open the transfer window before the end of the current season.
It could mean a change in transfer strategy for Manchester United and Man City.
A statement from FIFA said: “The new temporary regulatory amendments approved by the Bureau of the Council are as follows:
“In order to avoid any concerns regarding unemployed players, players are permitted to be registered with a maximum of three clubs and are eligible to play in official matches for three clubs during the same season.
“In order to give priority to clubs to complete their (2019/20) season with their original squad, provide flexibility, and allow MAs to properly plan their football calendar, those associations following a dual-year calendar are permitted to commence the “ first registration period ” for the 2020/21 season prior to the completion of the 2019/20 season, subject to certain conditions.”
For the likes of Chelsea new signing Hakim Ziyech and other players that have already completed transfer to English clubs for next season, this rule change does not mean they can play in the final matches of the season.
It’s understood that reopening the Premier League’s registration process ahead of the season restart was discussed at Thursday’s meeting, but the proposal was rejected.
Source: manchestereveningnews
