Premier League 'green light' plans to close transfer window before start of season

During the 2024-25 summer window, Premier League clubs spent over £1.75bn on new signings, with 305 players departing their existing clubs while 309 arrived at new homes for the upcoming campaign.

This summer's most expensive signing was that of Dominic Solanke by Tottenham Hotspur, who splashed out around £65m to secure his signature from Bournemouth only a week before the Premier League season got underway.

However, there was still plenty of action in the market after the season began, with the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Eddie Nketiah, Manuel Ugarte, Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho all penning deals at new clubs in the final hours before the transfer deadline.

PL to shut transfer window before new season kicks off

Before the start of the 2024-25 season, the Premier League faced criticism for keeping the transfer window open until August 30, despite the domestic campaign beginning two weeks earlier.

Proposals to close the transfer window before the start of the 2024-25 season were reportedly blocked due to a lack of consensus among Europe's top five leagues, with no compromises made, though that could be set to change.

According to a report from The Mirror, the Premier League has now teamed up with other major European leagues, through the European Club Association (ECA), to close the summer transfer window on August 15, one day before the next season is set to begin.

The report adds a final decision regarding the plan is anticipated before the end of 2024, with the transfer window dates already established for the mid-season market in January.

The Premier League, together with La Liga, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A, will open their transfer windows on January 1 as normal.

However, all five leagues will close their windows on February 3 to encourage greater harmony within the system.

ECA chiefs confirm transfer deadline date talks are underway

Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano and Celtic's non-executive chairman Peter Lawwell are both members of the ECA's board of directors, along with former Sunderland director Chris Woerts.

Woerts, now a prominent figure in the Eredivisie, confirmed that a plan is in the works and that it was only blocked previously due to Barcelona's intervention.

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.

"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'."

Among the Premier League clubs that are represented on the ECA are Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham and West Ham United.