Everton and Liverpool could be handed a transfer boost should plans floated by the Football Association come to fruition.
Since the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union in January 2020, football transfers have been impacted due to the introduction of the FA’s Governing Body Endorsement (GBE), a points-based system where the eligibility of players and their ability to get a work visa is determined by a number of factors such as the standard of league and club they are arriving from, appearances in certain competitions and international honours at both senior and junior level.
English clubs have been at a disadvantage when compared to their European counterparts when it comes to sourcing talent from across the globe that didn’t meet the GBE requirements.
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That has seen some owners look toward the multi-club model and housing talent until such time that they can move them through clubs in their portfolio.
But with the impact on the ability of English teams to act in the market when it comes to these type of players that have room for growth but have not been playing at a standard that would typically earn them the green light for GBE automatically, such as the kind of players that Brighton & Hove Albion have had great success in identifying, the FA have proposed a plan to provide some leeway.
According to the Guardian, the FA propose that Premier League and Championship clubs would be able sign four overseas players without a GBE, as long as the club gave 35 per cent of total playing minutes to English players during the previous season. Depending on the percentage of minutes played by English players during the previous campaign, the number of signings would drop to three (30-35 per cent), two (25-30 per cent) or one (20-25 per cent).
An FA spokesperson told the Guardian: “We’ve worked hard to find a solution to this issue which helps the clubs and also supports young English talent.
“We are now in a consultation with the clubs on a new model which would give clubs access to a broader range of talent in limited quantities and would also support opportunities for English talent.”
For clubs such as Liverpool, who have long searched for ways to find value in a transfer market that has become increasingly inflated, and Everton, who will likely need to cut their cloth accordingly and seek undervalued talent across Europe regardless of what league they find themselves in next season, the proposed changes to the system would likely be welcomed. Both clubs have given heavy minutes to English players in recent seasons.
Any plans to amend the current GBE system would have to be approved by the Home Office.
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