Premier League set to agree to FIFA’s early June transfer window to allow business before Club World Cup

Premier League clubs are set to confirm their desire to take advantage of an early June transfer window set up by FIFA.

Top-flight clubs are expected to sign off on the new window - which will be open between June 1 and June 10 - at a clubs meeting in London on Thursday. A vote is scheduled to be cast on the proposal and will require a super-majority of 14 to pass.

The FIFA Council approved the interim window last October as an option for leagues which had clubs competing in the Club World Cup.

However, this window would be open to all clubs in said league - not just Club World Cup entrants Manchester City and Chelsea, in the case of the Premier League.

Should the window open early, it will have ramifications on its closing date due the fact FIFA regulations limit closed-season windows to a maximum of 12 weeks.

As such, this year’s transfer window will likely close on August 14, two days before the start of the 2025/26 season, instead of at the end of the month.

This is not the first time the dates of the Premier League summer transfer window have been shaken up in recent years.

A similar measure was previously introduced for the summer windows of 2018 and 2019, before clubs reverted to the old system following the COVID-disrupted campaign of 2019/20.

Clubs found that the window, now not aligned with the rest of Europe, was disadvantageous in the market - but with FIFA proposing the alteration to all leagues with Club World Cup participants, there is the hope that this will be less of a factor.

However, The Telegraph claim there have been problems with persuading other leagues to fall in line with the changes, which could prove a stumbling block for the proposal.

Not everyone is a fan of the transfer reshuffle, namely new England boss Thomas Tuchel, who says the June international window does not make sense for national team managers due to the drastically different schedules of squad members.

“In general, being a club coach or international coach, the FIFA June window is I think debatable if it makes sense,” he said. “Not everyone plays a Champions League final or a club final so there is this awkward period for a player.

“They have 10 or 14 days break, then they go to international, then they give them a little bit of holiday but they think: ‘Other players are on holiday. I need to come back.’

“So the June window is not ideal for anyone, especially the players. But it's there. I think it’s FIFA who can maybe align the calendar and maybe find a gap where we put this window ... for the better of the players.”

Should FIFA’s earlier window become universal across Europe’s top leagues, the shake-up could have an impact on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s rumoured departure away from Liverpool, with Sky Sports reporting that Real Madrid want to sign the wantaway defender in time for him to play in the Club World Cup.

This could act as a boost to Liverpool’s hopes of accruing a fee for their homegrown superstar due to the fact Alexander-Arnold’s contract runs out on June 30, while the Club World Cup starts on June 14.