The Premier League’s summer transfer window will be split in two in order to allow Chelsea and Manchester City to strengthen ahead of the Club World Cup.
An initial window will open on June 1 - two weeks earlier than last year’s window - and run until June 10, before the inaugural edition of the revamped Club World Cup starts on June 14.
A second window will then open on June 16 and run through the rest of the summer until deadline day on September 1.
FIFA announced last year that it would give individual leagues the choice of whether to open an “exceptional registration period” for their clubs to bolster their squads at the end of the domestic season and before the Club World Cup in the US.
Chelsea and City are the Premier League’s representatives in the tournament, but the extra window in early June will be open to all top-flight clubs in order to ensure those sides do not gain an unfair market advantage.
FIFA rules stipulate that summer transfer windows can only stay open for a maximum of 89 days, which is why the Premier League cannot simply allow the first window to span the rest of the summer.
Were they to do so, they would have to close the window earlier, in late-August. That would leave English clubs vulnerable to the prospect of losing players to overseas leagues with later deadline days, without the ability to sign replacements until January.
