Man City face a race against time to get a number of key deals over the line for the Club World Cup
The 2025 summer transfer window has only just kicked into life but already a number of top European football clubs are facing a race against time to get key deals over the line with things coming to abrupt halt on Tuesday 10th June.
Transfers are getting completed at an earlier stage than ever before with the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool all already getting key deals over the line.
And that’s all because the summer transfer window is formatted in a new way that fans have never previously seen in European football.
But why does the summer transfer window close so early and what’s the purpose behind it as fans gear up for the excitement of the Club World Cup?
Why is the 2025 summer window closing today?
The summer market officially opened on Sunday 1st June, meaning clubs around the world were able to start their business 14 days earlier than they did last year.
However, the window closes again only nine days later on Tuesday 10th June at 7pm, for a period of six days, putting a pause on any shock transfer announcements.
These rules have been introduced by FIFA to offer a window of opportunity to clubs competing in the Club World Cup, with Manchester City and Chelsea represented England after winning the Champions League in 2023 and 2021, respectively.
The split window was a move made by FIFA due to an exceptional registration period and it has applied to all clubs including Manchester United, who were able to sign Matheus Cunha from Wolves ahead of schedule despite not competing in the competition.
However, instead of keeping the window open from June 1 to early September, FIFA have decided to include a six day pause on transfer related activity, this is because their rules state that a summer transfer window can only be open for a maximum of 12 weeks throughout the year. So therefore, it has to be closed to then re-open only a few days later again to allow the window to run until September 1.
When does the summer transfer window re-open?
The second part of the window opens on Monday 16th June and runs until Deadline Day - which will be Monday 1st September.
Crucially it’s worth noting that Premier League and EFL clubs will only have until 7pm on 1 September to conclude their business as opposed to the 11pm cut-off point we have seen in years gone by.
It is understood that other European leagues will follow a similar format, which impacts the Club World Cup mini-window as well. Both City and United will be impacted as Pep Guardiola’s side face a cut off to bolster their squad for the Club World Cup while United will be unable to finalise any potential deals until next week, if not completed by Tuesday’s deadline.
What transfers have been completed?
Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Manchester United-linked forward Liam Delap for £30m after meeting the release clause of relegated Ipswich Town.
They’ve also agreed a deal in principle for Geovany Quenda to join next season while Dario Essugo arrives alongside 18-year-old Estêvão Willian, who had already agreed to join last summer.
Manchester City are on the brink of announcing the signing of Wolves defender Rayan Ait-Nouri along with AC Milan ace Tijjani Reijnders. A move for Rayan Cherki could also be completed before Tuesday’s deadline.
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