The Premier League has approved plans to make a major change to the summer transfer window for the 25/26 season.
The transfer window in England closed on the 30th of August this season, allowing teams to add to their squad after already playing twice in the Premier League, however, that luxury is set to end.
Executives from the European Club Association, which represents clubs from England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France, are all desperate to secure a future where players can’t be signed after the start of the domestic campaign.
With the 2025/26 season set to get underway on the 16th of August, this now means the Premier League transfer window will slam shut on Friday the 15th of August.
The Premier League now hopes the other top five European leagues will agree a deal to follow suit.
The plan was originally meant to be put into place this season, however, the withdrawal from La Liga due to Barcelona’s precarious situation regarding registering players meant a deal couldn’t be reached.
Former Sunderland director Chris Woerts sits on the ECA board and is now a significant figure in the Dutch Eredivisie.
Woerts has revealed why the plan to put all the European leagues in line has been devised.
He said: “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.
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“Everyone is getting frustrated and annoyed by the fact that players are still being sold for weeks while the competitions have started.
“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’,” he added.
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Topics: Premier League, La Liga, Barcelona