The final hours of transfer deadline day are upon us, with many Premier League clubs still in the race to make late reinforcements to their squads for the last leg of the campaign.
As the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham seek to complete deals for Jorginho, Enzo Fernandez and Pedro Porro respectively, they risk failure to secure their targets ahead of the 23:00pm cut-off.
Transfers are of course complex to understand - one might appear to happen in a matter hours, whilst another can see negotiations staggered over many months. Still, all must follow procedure, which means the completion of a contract between club and player, the transfer agreement between clubs, securing UK work permits, international clearance, and declaration of any additional charges involved.
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With so many facets needing finalisation, no wonder there is such annual anxiety in boardrooms. However, in order to alleviate some of those stresses - and avoid any more Peter Odemwingie moments - there is a method which allows for the completion of deals after the window slams shut.
What is a deal sheet?
The completion of this important, extra piece of paperwork - known as a deal sheet - allows clubs additional time to submit all other necessary documentation on deadline day.
Once the clock strikes 21:00pm the form may be submitted to Premier League officials, but not after the 23:00pm deadline.
The form itself is simple, consisting of blank spaces to fill in the name of the player, the two clubs involved, the fee agreed and any compensation payable.
When the league gives the green light to notify the sheet has been received, it allows the club until 01:00am to get the transfer completely signed off.
However, this does not mean clubs can abuse the deal sheet and announce their intention to sign a player with no evidence to back it up at 22:59pm, for example. To make the form valid, a substantial amount of the paperwork must have been already been completed.
Furthermore, it does not prevent any further snags being hit in regards to international transfers. For players coming from overseas, the two clubs involved still have to comply with the FIFA Transfer Matching System (TMS) deadline of midnight in order to get the deal done.
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