Derby County on alert as EFL expected to follow vote on summer transfer window change
Derby County may need to complete their summer transfer dealings in double quick time as Premier League clubs gear up to vote on an early closure of the window, with the EFL expected to follow suit.
The current top-tier clubs will cast their votes this Thursday on whether to set summer transfer deadline day as August 14, a mere two days prior to the commencement of the new Premier League season.
The Championship is set to kick off on the weekend of August 9 and 10, while League One and League Two will start their seasons on the weekend of August 2 and 3.
For the proposal to be approved, at least 14 out of the 20 top-flight clubs would need to vote in favour, which would result in the transfer window being shortened by approximately two-and-a-half weeks. As things stand it is not expected to go through.
This proposal, as reported by The Telegraph, suggests a potential return to the transfer windows of 2018 and 2019, during which the Premier League decided to conclude clubs’ business before the competitive season began.
This idea was later discarded due to concerns that European clubs, who maintained an end-of-August deadline, could unsettle and potentially poach Premier League players without English clubs having the opportunity to bring in replacements.
Any alterations to the Premier League calendar are likely to impact the lower divisions. In 2018 and 2019, the EFL voted to align with the Premier League, at least to some extent, reports Stoke on Trent Live.
In 2018, the EFL’s three divisions saw their transfer window close on the same day as the Premier League, between the first and second games of the season. However, this was only for permanent deals, with loan moves still possible until August 31.
In 2019, Championship clubs had to finalise all permanent and loan deals by the Premier League’s deadline, but League One and League Two clubs could continue business until the end of August.
Premier League managers have often expressed a preference for completing business before the season starts, allowing them to focus on matches without the disruption of ongoing transfers.
To be fair to Derby, the bulk of their recruitment was done before the start of the current season, although loans like Nat Phillips and Marcus Harness were late deals.
Derby are set for a big summer rebuild, no matter what division they are in. Several loan players are set to return to their parent clubs, while other key members of John Eustace’s squad are out of contract. Indeed the Rams are the third most reliant on loan players in the whole Championship.
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