Premier League and Championship clubs will now be able to sign up to four overseas players per season who do not meet the current points requirements of the international visa system.
The Football Association confirmed it had designed a "new football solution" which comes into effect for this summer's transfer window. While Bristol City's transfer strategy is in place, with the Robins having made two additions so far this window, with a third to arrive, is does enable them to look beyond these borders and make use of a expanded scouting operation, similar to when they signed Niclas Eliasson and Han-Noah Massengo.
Clubs in Leagues One and Two will be able to sign up to two overseas players per season who do not meet the regular Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) criteria, which have been approved by the Home Office, opening up the European market for Joey Barton and his recruitment team at Bristol Rovers should they wish to proceed down that route. The most recent signing the Gas have made of a non-British player from outside the UK was the arrival of Dutch goalkeeper Jordi van Stappershoef from Volendam in 2019.
The FA said the move "provides additional access to exceptional international talent which falls outside the current GBE criteria". The criteria include the number of international appearances and domestic league minutes a player has played.
Since Britain left the European Union in 2020 all players from EU countries have been required to obtain a GBE in order to play in England. Brexit also meant clubs had to wait until a player from an EU country was at least 18 to sign them, rather than 16 as previously.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters told the Financial Times Business of Football Summit in March that those two issues had contributed to top-flight clubs smashing the January transfer record for spending, with clubs having to sign more expensive, established talents.
The FA said the Premier League and EFL had "committed to work with the FA on improving the pathway for talented English youngsters" as part of the new agreement. The outcomes of both the changes to the GBE system and the improvements to the pathway will be kept under review.
The FA said if both are found to be working successfully, then it is possible the number of overseas players a club can sign who do not meet the regular GBE criteria could increase.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said: "As English football's governing body, we oversee the whole football ecosystem, and we wanted to create a new model which would meet the different objectives of our football stakeholders.
"We worked closely with the clubs and the leagues, and have designed a progressive solution which will give clubs additional access to international talent and incentivise playing opportunities for English talent."
