Premier League clubs have voted to move the closing date of the summer transfer window.
At Thursday’s shareholders’ meeting the clubs voted to revert to the traditional date at the end of August/early September after two seasons where the window closed on the eve of the campaign.
That means this summer’s window will close at 1700 BST on Tuesday, September 1, with August 31 being a Bank Holiday.
At a Shareholders’ Meeting today, #PL clubs voted to adopt a change to the Summer Transfer Window closing date for season 2020/21 The 2020 closing date will therefore be 17:00 BST on 1 September Full statement: https://t.co/YPf7LW1Sx8 pic.twitter.com/hiv7cnSqec — Premier League (@premierleague) February 6, 2020
A Premier League statement read: “At a Shareholders’ Meeting today, Premier League clubs voted to adopt a change to the Summer Transfer Window closing date for season 2020/21.
“This will move the closing date back to the traditional point at the end of August/early September.
“The 2020 closing date will therefore be 17:00 BST on 1 September (31 August 2020 being a UK Bank Holiday).
“Clubs agreed after discussing the topic at length at previous Shareholders’ Meetings.”
With the transfer window closing before the start of the Premier League season – but remaining open for most of Europe – Liverpool chairman Tom Werner admitted Premier League clubs had been put at a disadvantage, however well intentioned the decision to bring the deadline forward had been.
Werner told Sky Sports News: “We felt it was in the best interests of the league to be in sync with the other leagues and extend the window until the end of August.
“I understood the reason for (bringing the deadline forward) but it put a lot of pressure on all of us to make decisions and it gave an advantage to other leagues, so it’s good to be consistent.”
The PA news agency understands that the clubs also considered a “hybrid” model for the transfer window.
That would have seen a deadline of the start of the season – which is Saturday, August 8 – for domestic transfers and of September 1 for international deals, but having one deadline for both was preferred.
The PA news agency understands the dates were also fixed for the start of the 2020-21 Premier League season, which will begin on the weekend of August 7 to 9.
That is less than a month after Euro 2020 finishes, on July 12.
The Premier League later confirmed it had been decided a collective stand would be taken against anyone who was given a club ban for discriminatory, abusive or violent acts.
This season has seen a number of incidents which have resulted in clubs taking action against individuals concerned.
Those sanctions will now be upheld by all 20 of the member clubs.
A Premier League statement read: “At today’s Shareholders’ Meeting, Premier League clubs united against all forms of violent, threatening and abusive behaviour.
“Following recent events, the 20 clubs committed to introducing a league-wide ban for anyone banned by their club for discriminatory, abusive or violent acts.
“Unacceptable conduct towards players, fans, club employees or referees will not be tolerated by the Premier League or its clubs.”
