- There have been a number of ‘swap deals’ in the transfer window this summer
- Now, the Premier League will closely follow the agreements that are made
- Listen to It’s all starting! Steve Clarke out? Has the Scotland coach taken them as far as he can?
The Premier League will monitor every transfer this summer to ensure clubs do not circumvent the rules after a series of unusual transactions.
There have been a number of ‘swap deals’ between top-tier clubs in recent weeks, including academy products being traded in separate transactions that are designed to help both sides’ bottom lines.
As an example, midfielder Tim Iroegbunam signed for Everton from Aston Villa on Saturday for around £9m, while winger Lewis Dobbin completed a move in the opposite direction in a separate deal believed to be worth £10m.
Chelsea are closing in on signing Villa academy star Omari Kellyman for £19million. And Champions League finalist when he was on loan at Borussia Dortmund, Ian Maatsen, will go the other way in a separate deal for around £35m.
Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin was the subject of interest from Newcastle, while impressive Toon youngster Yankuba Minteh had been approached to go the other way. Like the aforementioned movements, it would not have been an exchange but rather two different transfers.
The Premier League will review every transfer this summer after a series of ‘swap deals’ between top clubs, such as Lewis Dobbin’s move to Aston Villa from Everton.
Midfielder Tim Iroegbunam went the other way, joining Everton from Aston Villa for £9m.
This helps both clubs’ efforts to steer clear of the top flight’s sustainability and profit rules – Everton have twice had points deducted for breaching them and the other three are understood to be sailing close to the wind.
Why is this beneficial? If Club A signs a player for, say, £10m and sells another player for £10m, the money they pay can be written off over the duration of the contract, while the amount received can be immediately included in the balance.
In the case of academy players, this can be considered pure profit. With less than a week until the final accounting date for financial fair play calculations of June 30, which some call a “light deadline day,” these agreements can help clubs steer clear of future financial worries.
But Mail Sport has learned that the Premier League has the right to review all these transfers to check that they are carried out in good faith. If clubs are found to be intentionally circumventing the rules, they could be at risk of breaching the guidelines.
Any transfer can be reviewed as a threshold transaction to verify that it is carried out at arm’s length. Otherwise, the Premier League can investigate whether it was done at fair market value, which is, in effect, checking whether clubs have intentionally colluded to inflate fees.
It’s worth noting that the deals made so far have not breached any written rules – the clubs are simply cleverly circumventing a loophole – but sources close to the Premier League have stressed that it would not be in good faith to intentionally circumvent the rules.
