Concluding Premier League transfers can often prove unpredictable, and there is an awful lot of significant paperwork which needs to be completed in quick time when it gets late on Deadline Day
Deadline Day is now upon us – and the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Aston Villa are scrambling to get deals completed before time runs out.
United completed the signing of Lecce defender Patrick Dorgu on Sunday as part of a £25 million move. And Marcus Rashford is also heading on loan to Aston Villa. Meanwhile, clubs all across Europe will be working at frantic pace to get deals over the line before the market slams shut.
In order to get their deals over the line before the 11pm (GMT) deadline, many Premier League clubs will need to have a ‘transfer deal sheet’. While it may seem straightforward paperwork, they are vital when it comes to sorting out a late transfer.
With one of the most frantic and unpredictable days of the football campaign upon us, Mirror Football explains the ‘transfer deal sheet’ and why it is so crucial for Premier League clubs.
To confirm that a deal for a player has been agreed before the market closes, a transfer deal sheet must be filled out. Due to the hectic nature of Transfer Deadline Day, some clubs have mere minutes to fill out the document and ensure the move can take place.
Transfer deal sheets can speed up a process, by providing clubs with a streamlined and fast way to signal that a deal as been agreed.
Once the former has been sent off, clubs have another two hours to complete the relevant paperwork to get the deal over the line.
Deal sheets have to be submitted before the 11pm deadline, but they can only be used within the final two hours of the market.
These sheets must also be accepted before clubs are granted an extra 120 minutes to dot the I’s and cross the T’s of the transfer. If this two-hour deadline is not met, then the deal will be rendered invalid.
The information on the sheet is simple. It signals which player will be on the move, the club they will be moving from, the team they will be moving to, the transfer/loan fee, and any other potential add-ons.
As a result of paperwork issues and malfunctions causing many transfers to collapse in the final hours of the transfer window, deal sheets were introduced into the Premier League in 2008. Directors and owners will know a transfer deal sheet like the back of their hand.
City have been the busiest club in the January transfer window, signing Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Victor Reis from Eintracht Frankfurt, Lens and Palmeiras respectively.
They have also been linked with midfield stars Ederson from Atalanta and Porto lynch-pin Nico Gonzalez. Moreover, Evan Ferguson of Brighton and Hove Albion is also expected to secure a loan move to West Ham United on Deadline Day.
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