Transfer window to shut early next season

The transfer window has been shut for a while now but starting next year the Premier League will shut the window before the season starts.

Currently teams have until August 31 to get their transfer business done. This means teams can have almost four games before their rosters are settled.

Managers have been asking for years to have the window shut before the season starts. They claim it creates issues with team unity and cohesion. Having players coming in and leaving while games are being played was a disruption they didn’t want to have any more.

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It is important to note that while Premier League clubs will not be able to buy players after the deadline passes, they can still sell players. So it’s not impossible to gurantee that a player like Philippe Coutinho would leave for Spain during the time when the Premier League window is shut but other league’s windows are open.

This could create what some believe is a competitive advantage for foreign teams who will have a few extra weeks to buy Premier League players. Although I personally believe this will be an issue for maybe three years before UEFA steps in to make it uniform across all European Leagues, or the Premier League decides it is an actual advantage and reverses it’s decision.

This change would not have affected West Ham this season as our major signings were taken care of well before the season started. How it will affect West Ham going forward is hard to say. West Ham have done business at all points of the window in the past and don’t have a reputation like that of Tottenham for getting their business done late.

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The biggest issue I can see is when West Ham’s best players are subject to interest from foreign teams it will make it difficult to replace that production. The most likely candidates for this situation to happen would be Javier Hernandez and Manuel Lanzini.

This change is likely to help improve the early season play of Premier League teams as they will have their rosters set from match day one. It’s also a good sign to see the Premier League being a leader in football. In all likelihood other leagues in Europe will follow their lead. Managers everywhere have this issue and will clamor for the same change. Overall it’s a great move for the Premier League despite having a few years of potential issues.