It’s that time of the year again where managers make a trolley dash through the transfer market and try to sign players on transfer deadline day, thereby making other people feel good about leaving things to the last minute. After all, how many people do you know that suddenly spend millions of pounds at the last minute for a quick fix?
This year is quite unique in the sense that there will actually be football matches played on deadline day – a first since 2012. Gameweek 23 in the Premier League sees 14 teams go head-to-head on Tuesday night. With EFL Cup and FA Cup fixtures in the way followed by European games in February, the Premier League had no choice but to schedule one set of fixtures for 31 January and 1 February.
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We could also see managers either sweat over the availability of their own players or put their foot down and refuse a move, thereby risking a situation not too different from the one West Ham encountered with Dimitri Payet before his move to Marseille.
Not all clubs are happy with their squads and may just sign a player or two before the window slams shut. Clubs in or near the relegation zone, especially those with new managers may just try and sign that one player to change their fortunes.
Also read: January Transfer Deadline Day – LIVE Updates
When is the deadline to sign players?
31 January may be ‘Deadline Day’ in Europe but clubs don’t have all 24 hours to sign players. Some leagues see the window close an hour before midnight while other leagues such as the German Bundesliga sees the window close as early as 6 PM local time.
| League | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Bundesliga | 6 PM |
| Serie A | 10 PM |
| Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Eredivisie | 11 PM |
What about non-European leagues?
A 11 PM deadline does not mean that managers in European clubs can have a good night’s sleep. There is a bigger threat from the Far East that has raised its head in recent months and made them sweat over their players’ futures and peace of mind.
The Chinese Super League has pumped cash in a bid to bring the best players to China and the cash-rich clubs have definitely upset the balance of power in club football. The likes of Oscar, Hulk, Graziano Pelle, Ramires and Carlos Tevez have made big-money moves to China, much to the dismay of European football fans – especially with young players such as Oscar.
The transfer window does not close in China until 28 February – ample time for clubs to lure the best talents. So don’t discount club-record-breaker Wayne Rooney moving to China with nothing left to win at Manchester United.
Some leagues start and finish in the same calendar year, such as the Brazilian Serie A where the league usually ends in December and has a transfer window that is open for three months; closing on 31 March. So any homesick players from Europe looking to get back home have another two months to finalise a move.
Can players signed on deadline day play tonight?
The simple answer is a big ‘NO’. For any player to play for their club, the club needs to inform the Premier League authorities at least 24 hours in advance – i.e. midday of 30 January.
While the new player may be registered with the club, he will not be allowed to play until the weekend.
Has the transfer deadline ever been extended?
Special circumstances have forced the deadline day to be extended beyond the official last day. There can be two reasons for the January transfer deadline day to move into February.
1) 31 January is a bank holiday preventing clubs from conducting business.
2) Adverse weather conditions prevent players and club officials from flying out to conduct deals. Example: Andrei Arshavin was actually signed by Arsenal 24 hours after the actual deadline when a severe snow storm on deadline day grounded all flights, thereby delaying the registration process.
There was also a case of the Premier League bringing forward the summer transfer deadline day time to 6 PM so top clubs could submit their squads before the Champions League’s 11 PM deadline.
