EFL clubs have agreed in principle to push the summer transfer deadline back to the end of August.
The decision, which will bring Championship clubs into line with League One, League Two and Premier League clubs, will be subject to a process to formally adopt the change into EFL regulations.
That process will begin in due course, and would mean the deadline for all EFL transfer activity this summer being September 1, with August 31 a Bank Holiday.
An EFL statement read: “EFL clubs have today reached an agreement in principle to amend the deadline of the summer transfer window to the traditional closing date at the end of August.
EFL statement: EFL Clubs agree new dates for 2020 summer transfer window. #EFL https://t.co/veQ9nCRxBw — EFL (@EFL) February 27, 2020
“A process for formally adopting the change into EFL regulations will now take place in due course, bringing Championship clubs in line with the current position for League One and League Two.”
English top-flight clubs voted on February 6 at their shareholders’ meeting to push the deadline back, overturning a decision made in 2017 to bring the deadline forward to before the start of the domestic season.
The 2017 system was adopted for the last two summers but, after other European countries chose not to follow suit, it has been changed again.
It was felt that European clubs were then at an advantage, as they could still sign Premier League players but no replacements could be bought.
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
That decision in early February left the Championship out on a limb, with League One and Two clubs already trading until the end of August.
Meanwhile, the EFL will not make changes to the composition of its board despite a recommendation in an independent governance review.
The review, led by Jonathan Taylor QC, recommended three independent directors be added to the EFL board, replacing three of the six club members on the board.
However, the EFL said after careful consideration its board did not support the change, as it believed this “could undermine the objective of strengthening the relationship between the board and member clubs”.
Clubs expressed their support for the board’s position at Thursday’s meeting.
