Chelsea and other top Premier League clubs have been “warned that they have only one more season to complete a dramatic overhaul of their squads to comply” with FIFA’s new loan regulations, according to Matt Hughes of the LONDON TIMES. FIFA’s proposals to “reduce the number of players that clubs can send out on loan have been ratified,” and the governing body has “told clubs that it will introduce the new limit from the start” of the ‘20-21 season. Chelsea currently has 39 players out on loan, and “from the season after next, that number will be strictly limited to between six and eight, which will have huge implications for the club’s business model and the way that they develop young players.” Under proposals that have now been approved by the FIFA council, there will also be a “smaller limit on the number of players that can be loaned to any one club, which could also adversely affect Chelsea”. This season the club has three players on loan at Vitesse Arnhem and has sent several players to the Dutch club every year since ’10. FIFA’s proposals have been “developed by a task force created by its football stakeholders committee as part of a wider overhaul of the transfer system” (LONDON TIMES, 12/1).
CHANGE IN THE AIR: In London, Paul Hirst reported Man City Manager Pep Guardiola “admitted” that his club will be “forced to revamp" its transfer policy and sell a number of young players because of FIFA’s plans to "clamp down on loans.” He said, “The new rules are coming, we’re going to see the situation about loan players and adapt. If we cannot loan them, they are going to come back here.” In London, Paul Hirst noted Man City is “among those who will be hit the hardest by the rule change, which is designed to prevent teams from stockpiling players.” For the past few years, Man City has also “bought dozens of teenagers in the hope of developing them into first-team players or selling them on for a profit” (LONDON TIMES, 12/1).
