Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has played down the suggestion that clubs including Chelsea have exploited "loopholes" in the current profit and sustainability rules (PSR), and described the fierce battle to gain an advantage in the top-flight as "a great thing".
Ahead of the June 30 accounting deadline, Chelsea, Newcastle, Everton and Aston Villa completed a series of seemingly mutually beneficial deals, leading to suggestions that they had found a loophole in the PSR regulations.
Chelsea signed Villa's Omari Kellyman in a deal worth up to £19million on June 29, with Ian Maatsen going the other way in a £35m deal.
The Blues have also eased their financial position with the sale of two hotels to a sister company in a £76.5m deal and sold the women's team to the club's parent company.
The Premier League has resolved an investigation into the hotels deal but is still looking into the sale of the women's team to ensure it was done at fair market value.
Asked if clubs were exploiting loopholes in the current rules, which are to be scrapped at the end of the coming season, Masters said: "The rules are well understood and so I wouldn't describe these as loopholes.
"They're understood and permitted within the rules and our job is to ensure that [clubs] comply with the letter of the rules.
"Obviously you've got lots of clubs who have different spending plans over a three-year period and we care less about that plan, more about the eventuality that everybody complies with those rules. So there's different ways of achieving the same thing, which is being within the limit."
Chelsea's behaviour has frustrated some of their top-flight rivals but Masters insisted there is still a "collective spirit" within the Premier League, and says the battle for "an angle" is positive.
"There is a collective spirit within the Premier League that still exists," he said. "It is a competition. So it's set up for people to compete with each other and clubs compete with each other on the pitch, off the pitch, in sponsorship markets, for new investment.
"They're competing with each other all the time and everyone is trying to find an angle, whether it be signing a player, finding a way to be better in the Premier League. And I think that is a great thing."
A number of clubs including Chelsea have prioritised selling academy players, who count as pure profit in the accounts, to balance the books.
Asked if the Premier League could try to protect young players or incentivise clubs to keep them, Masters said: "I'm not quite sure how you apply accounting principles and avoid that outcome [of homegrown players being sold].
"I do understand the point, but I think there is a huge opportunity for young players, young homegrown players in the Premier League at the moment.
"I think it's one of the great stories of the last 10 years, the fortunes of the England team being transformed by the investment that's been made in the academy system, not just across the Premier League but across the EFL as well. The story around young players in this country is a really positive one."
Everton and Nottingham Forest were both docked points for breaching PSR rules last season, while Leicester have also been charged for allegedly breaking the rules.
PSR is set to be scrapped at the end of the campaign and top-flight clubs are trialling a new financial system this season, based on the principles of Squad Cost Rules (SCR) and Top to Bottom Anchoring Rules (TBA).
"I'm not sure there is widespread discontent about the [current] rules," said Masters. "The reason we are contemplating change is because where it started from was alignment with UEFA.
“Obviously what has changed is that some clubs have breached those rules and that has brought forward an examination of the financial system externally and put it under a lot of scrutiny. I accept it's created frustration and a lack of clarity at times."
