Why Is The Premier League Having Two Summer Transfer Windows?

This week the Premier League announced that it will have two summer transfer windows this season. The summer transfer season is always an exciting one for football fans, and it will be even more exciting this time around because of the two transfer deadlines and the extended signing period. The first one starts on the 1st June and runs just over a week to the 10th June, while the second will start on the 16th June and run until the 1st September.

Why Is This Happening?

FIFA have allowed this to happen because of the expanded 32 team Club World Cup that is happening this summer, starting on the 15th June. Clubs involved in the tournament will now be able to sign players prior to the competition starting, so that they may be involved. Manchester City and Chelsea, two clubs often so busy in the transfer market, are the two Premier League clubs that will be taking part in the Club World Cup this summer, so it is likely that they will make moves before the tournament kicks off.

Premier League clubs have agreed on the 2025 summer transfer window dates following a shareholders' meeting.

The window will open early between Sunday June 1 and Tuesday June 10.

It will then open again on Monday June 16 until Deadline Day on Monday September 1. pic.twitter.com/RthZP3sHWa

— Sky Sports (@SkySports) March 27, 2025

The reason it has been split rather than having one long window that runs through the whole summer is that the Premier League only allows the transfer window to be open for 12 weeks in the summer. FIFA has allowed for new players to be registered from 1st June to 10th June and also from the 27th June to 3rd July, just before the knockout stage begins. This will give fans a chance to see their new players in competitive action straight away, rather than having to wait until the beginning of the league season in August.

However it is not just Manchester City and Chelsea that will benefit from the double Premier League transfer window. All 18 of the other Premier League teams will be able to sign players in the first week of June too, although fans will have to wait a little bit longer to see those players in action. If the Premier League had not given permission from this window, only Manchester City and Chelsea would have still been allowed to make transfers according to FIFA’s new rules. This would have been alongside teams such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Al-Hilal. The Premier League created this window so that Manchester City and Chelsea would not have an advantage over the other 18 teams.

Transfer Window Changes?

There have been some talks recently surrounding the possibility of changing the transfer widow’s closing date for the future. Club directors especially are pushing for the transfer window to end before the beginning of the league season, to stop players leaving after a few games and to stop panic buys.

This would be a good idea in principle, however other leagues have different transfer window deadlines that could still see players leave once the Premier League season starts. Notibley, the Saudi and the Turkish league transfer windows close at a later date than the Premier League’s. This is what allowed Victor Osimhen to join Galatasaray on the 3rd September last year, after Chelsea had failed to agree a deal with the forward.

Semi-Automated Offsides

In a recent meeting, the Premier League clubs unanimously voted to leave deadline day as it is, probably down to the fact that no other leagues were considering a change. Also in this meeting, the Premier League revealed that semi-automated offsides would be coming to the league within the next few weeks. They were trialed in the last round of the FA Cup and, other than a memorable incident at Bournemouth, were quite successful. The technology failed on the South Coast because of a congested penalty area, which resulted in an eight minute delay, a record in English football.

What Are Other Leagues Doing?

In regards to the transfer window, other European clubs will also be allowed to make transfers between the 1st June and the 10th June as long as they are taking part in the Club World Cup. Right now, most leagues have not made a decision to expand those allowed to make transfers, however arrangements are expected to take place soon.

Bayern Munich have made it clear that they could recall their players who are currently out on loan so that they can take part in the group stage. Mathys Tel is currently on loan at Tottenham until the 30th June, however the Bavarian side could recall him so that he would be available before the knockout stage.

Bayern Munich could look at recalling players from loan spells a few weeks early so they can play in the Club World Cup, including Tottenham loanee Mathys Tel.

— @kicker pic.twitter.com/7Jc7DUPn6M

— The Touchline | Football Coverage (@TouchlineX) March 28, 2025

Real Madrid have agreed a deal with Trent Alexander-Arnold for him to join them when his contract runs out with Liverpool on the 30th June. The full back won’t be able to play for them during the group stage as he will still be a Liverpool player at that time. The reverse will be an issue for Manchester City, as Kevin De Bruyne will be able to play during the group stage for them, but his contract is also out at the end of June, so unless he signs an extension, he will be unavailable for the knockout stages.