Need to know
The Premier League transfer window closes on September 1 and Man United and Manchester City may need to use transfer deal sheets if they want to complete any late business
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez has been linked with a move to Manchester City all summer(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
What is a transfer deal sheet?
Premier League transfer deadline: The current summer transfer window is due to close on Tuesday, September 1. Top-flight clubs must finalise their main business before 11pm on this date, bringing to an end approximately three months of continuous trading. Following this cut-off point, the next chance for sides to bring in new signings will not come around until the winter window begins on Friday, January 1, 2027.
Function of a deal sheet: A transfer deal sheet is a particular administrative form that enables football clubs to formally request additional time past the standard transfer window cut-off. Through submitting this document, teams can verify that an agreement in principle has been struck for a player's move, providing them with the crucial extra period to finalise intricate legal and financial documentation. This process is typically utilised when clubs wrap up their talks at the eleventh hour and cannot feasibly get all the detailed paperwork signed and submitted before the market shuts.
Submission rules: The Premier League has rigorous regulations governing precisely when clubs can submit these deal sheets to the governing body. For a typical 11pm transfer deadline, clubs are expressly forbidden from using or lodging a deal sheet before 9pm. This two-hour window ensures the mechanism is reserved exclusively for transactions that are genuinely last-minute, rather than serving as a straightforward extension for deals concluded much earlier in the day.
Extended paperwork deadline: After a deal sheet has been successfully lodged and accepted by the relevant football authorities, the clubs involved receive additional time to complete the official transfer procedure. Specifically, teams are granted a further two hours, pushing their final administrative cut-off point to 1am. Should the complete registration documentation fail to be submitted by this revised deadline, the transfer will not go through and will remain unfinished until the next registration window becomes available.
Key document requirements: The deal sheet itself demands precise preliminary details to establish that a legitimate agreement has been reached between the two clubs involved. It must include a written statement, signed by both parties, confirming that negotiations over the transfer or loan of the named player were finalised before the deadline passed. Furthermore, the document must clearly set out the full financial terms of the deal, breaking down both the fixed fees and any conditional payments, all of which must be stated in pounds sterling.