Calls grow to keep transfer window open until October
Premier League clubs are pushing for the transfer window to be kept open until October to maximise time to do business for players.
The market usually opens in July but teams will still be playing following the suspension of football for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Discussions around opening the window in August, September and October were held during the meeting with club officials and the Premier League last week, when dates to complete the season were set.
It means trading could still be possible after the 2020-21 season starts. The last two deadline days have been moved to before the start of the season to avoid a player facing the team he could join days later. However, clubs have pointed out that this situation potentially happens every January.
Moving this year’s summer deadline into October is likely to bring England into line with Italy, and other European countries are likely to follow. Agents are already preparing for German clubs to have an advantage in the market by completing their season first.
“You have a movable feast with lots of different European leagues beginning and ending at different times so there is a judgment call to be made and we will get to that in the next couple of weeks,” said Richard Masters, the Premier League chairman, on Sky Sports. “The transfer window will open after the end of the season, it is just a question of how long it goes on for.”
Fifa will allow the window to move after the football calendar was drastically altered because of the pandemic but it wants to limit the time for trading to 16 weeks.
Club chairmen have been willing to keep the window open until January.