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Premier League may extend transfer window for deals with EFL clubs

<span>Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images</span>
Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

The Premier League is considering extending the transfer window to allow an extra two weeks’ trading with EFL clubs.

A shareholders’ meeting on Thursday, scheduled to discuss the issues around starting next season, ended without decisions being made. Considerations over when to begin the 2020-21 campaign and what to do about clubs who compete in the Uefa competitions in August are still to be addressed.

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Dates for the summer transfer window are also to be agreed, after an expected vote was postponed. There were, however, discussions over the possibility of pushing any closing date to the middle of October, with the extra time reserved solely for domestic transfers with clubs outside the top division.

This topic has been raised in talks between the Premier League and EFL over how to resolve the financial crisis faced by football because of the pandemic.

Transfer trading has been one key way identified by the EFL for its clubs, who have effectively seen their revenues wiped out in recent months, to stay afloat.

Uefa has issued guidance that transfer windows across Europe’s top divisions should close by 5 October, to give clubs in European competition enough time to register players. The Premier League proposal would see that date pushed back to 19 October, the day before the scheduled first round of Champions League fixtures.

Uefa would not be able to enforce any compliance with the 5 October deadline and this would not be the first time the Premier League has adopted a different timeframe to the rest of Europe, having only this season voted to return to end trading in line with the continent after two years of finishing earlier.

The window is expected to open as soon as the season finishes on 26 July.

The meeting also included an update on the government’s working groups regarding the safe return of spectators, though there was no discussion between clubs. There was debate over a possible return for academy fixtures but no agreement was made.

The next shareholders’ meeting is scheduled for 24 July. At this point it seems likely a start date of 12 September will be agreed for the 2020-21 season, although clubs who feature in the final stages of the Champions League and Europa League may be allowed to delay their return.