THE Premier League could make a radical change to transfer regulations at its summer agm, when a proposal that all fees must be paid within a year of a player signing will be discussed, reports JAMIE JACKSON
Transfer payments are currently scheduled over the course of a player’s contract, which usually ranges from three to five years, in line with practice across Europe.
The proposal on the table for discussion at the agm in the first week of June will suggest 50 per cent of the fee must be paid on the player signing with the remainder due within 12 months.
The Premier League is intent on tightening its financial regulations, following the troubled season experienced by Portsmouth, who are in administration with debts of €142 million, of which €16 million consists of unpaid transfer fees.
Portsmouth are due to hold a meeting with creditors on Friday at which their administrator, Andrew Andronikou, hopes to agree a Company Voluntary Arrangement. He has stated he hopes to take Portsmouth out of administration by the end of next month. A fire sale of players is expected to aid that process.
It is hoped that if only a year were allowed for a fee to be paid, clubs would be forced to exert a stricter control over their finances and less likely to fall behind on instalments.
David Gold, the co-owner of West Ham United, who will attend the league’s agm, said he would welcome the change.
“From my own club’s perspective I would say: ‘Here I am needing as much credit as I can get because we’re in financial restraints because of the debt we’ve inherited,’” he said of West Ham’s €116 million-plus liability.
“However from an overall, footballing point of view I actually believe controlling debt is one of the fundamentals that the Premier League should be addressing.”
At the agm the clubs could ratify the proposal for next season – which would require the support of the two-thirds of the 20 clubs – decide further discussions are required or dismiss it.
One objection to the proposal might be that it could leave Premier League clubs with less room to manoeuvre financially in signing players compared with teams in the rest of Europe.
