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The Premier League is expected to approve changes that will see the summer transfer window end before the start of the season, according to English newspapers.

The current window closes on Aug. 31, more than two weeks after the start of the domestic league season.

According to reports, representatives from the 20 Prem clubs will vote at next month's shareholder's meeting to move the deadline to the week before the 2018-19 season begins.

The Times report that the vast majority of Premier League clubs will vote for the change, while sources told the Telegraph that the actions are already at "approval level," which would consist of 14 votes, with Watford being one of the few hold outs.

This summer's window has seen a number of protracted transfer sagas which have disrupted some teams' start to the season, including those involving Southampton's Virgil van Dijk and Swansea's Gylfi Sigurdsson.

The Southampton defender did not feature in his side's 0-0 draw against Swansea on Saturday amid links to Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City.

And despite Swansea boss Paul Clement's July promise that Sigurdsson's transfer saga would not "drag on," the midfielder remains in limbo with the Wales club as a move to Everton is being negotiated.

The Iceland international, who scored nine league goals and provided 13 assists last season, has not played for Swansea since their first preseason friendly at Barnet on July 12.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp appeared to lend his support to the idea at a press conference ahead of his side's UEFA Champions League match in Hoffenheim.

Klopp said: "It would have helped us this year [if the window had shut early]. It makes sense that when the season is starting, planning for the team is over.''

His Swansea counterpart has also indicated that Premier League bosses broadly back the change.

"At our managers' meeting at the Premier League last week, we spoke about it," Clement said over the weekend.

"The majority of clubs are in favour but maybe all have to be for it to go through. It could happen next year.''

http://www.espnfc.us/story/3179979/prem ... up-reports

It's unclear to me what the extent of this would be. Someone on talkshite this morning said it would only cover transfers BETWEEN prem clubs. That would not help Liverpool and their Coutinho situation. Other areas are PL<->EFL and PL<->rest of the world transfers. Difficult to know how the squad situation would be easier to manage if particularly the latter (e.g. Coutinho->Barca) isn't included.

Justified logic wrote:It's unclear to me what the extent of this would be. Someone on talkshite this morning said it would only cover transfers BETWEEN prem clubs. That would not help Liverpool and their Coutinho situation. Other areas are PL<->EFL and PL<->rest of the world transfers. Difficult to know how the squad situation would be easier to manage if particularly the latter (e.g. Coutinho->Barca) isn't included.

It wouldn't help Liverpool with the Coutinho situation. This change would only affect transfers between Prnoer League clubs.

JamieMCFC wrote:

Justified logic wrote:It's unclear to me what the extent of this would be. Someone on talkshite this morning said it would only cover transfers BETWEEN prem clubs. That would not help Liverpool and their Coutinho situation. Other areas are PL<->EFL and PL<->rest of the world transfers. Difficult to know how the squad situation would be easier to manage if particularly the latter (e.g. Coutinho->Barca) isn't included.

It wouldn't help Liverpool with the Coutinho situation. This change would only affect transfers between Prnoer League clubs.

Needs to be UEFA wide, otherwise it gives top European clubs too much power to unsettle players at Prem clubs, leaving the Prem club snookered if their player tries to force through a move.

Just scrap the window altogether. Might see a levelling out of transfer fees as well as clubs won't be as desperate to buy or sell

Foreverinbluedreams wrote:

JamieMCFC wrote:

Justified logic wrote:It's unclear to me what the extent of this would be. Someone on talkshite this morning said it would only cover transfers BETWEEN prem clubs. That would not help Liverpool and their Coutinho situation. Other areas are PL<->EFL and PL<->rest of the world transfers. Difficult to know how the squad situation would be easier to manage if particularly the latter (e.g. Coutinho->Barca) isn't included.

It wouldn't help Liverpool with the Coutinho situation. This change would only affect transfers between Prnoer League clubs.

Needs to be UEFA wide, otherwise it gives top European clubs too much power to unsettle players at Prem clubs, leaving the Prem club snookered if their player tries to force through a move.

Well this is the way it seems to me. Would PL teams be able to recruit from outside the PL after the start of the season? If not, then they'd be in schtuk in a Courtinho->Barca scenario. If they could, then they'd have to recruit from outside the PL. It's doing my head in. I think the only hope for the PL is that such a change would force the rest of the UEFA leagues to adopt the same cut-off, albeit one week or more into various leagues' start of season.

nottsblue wrote:Just scrap the window altogether. Might see a levelling out of transfer fees as well as clubs won't be as desperate to buy or sell

Good call NB.

The other option is to delay the start of the season until after the window has closed........oh, hang on, that would mean the long, boring summer drought of no League Football would last even longer.

Moreover, the Clubs would fit in more meaningless friendlies to compensate and this would also mean more fixture congestion, during the season, when meaningless internationals are arranged.

On that basis, NB's call could be the most sensible of all.