Summer 2026 transfer window OPENS: All you need to know

When does the transfer window close? Who could be signed? Where can you track every move? Football writer Ben Bloom details all you need to know about the summer transfer window.

The time for clubs to change their squads with new signings, departures and loan deals is here, as they look to bolster their teams for the 2026/27 campaign.

Here is everything you need to know about the summer transfer window.

When does it open and close?

The window opened on Monday 15 June, and will close at 23:00 BST on Tuesday 1 September.

In the summer of 2025, the Premier League's 20 clubs reportedly spent more than £3billion on new players.

Once the transfer window closes on 1 September, Premier League clubs will then re-submit their updated squad lists.

Origin of transfers

Following the advent of professionalism in English football in the late 19th century, players began formally moving from one club to another.

However, the introduction of the controversial "retain-and-transfer" system in 1893 gave clubs significant power, allowing them to retain a player's registration – even after expiry of their contract – unless they deemed a compensatory fee to be sufficient.

The transfer-fee system became commonplace, with legal cases involving George Eastham (in 1963) and Jean-Marc Bosman (in 1995) helping to give players power to move from one club to another when their contracts expired.

The system of two transfer windows - summer and winter - was introduced for the 2002/03 season. Prior to that, the Premier League allowed players to move clubs at any time before or during a season until the end of March.

Where can I follow all the deals?

You can see EVERY in and out at all of the 20 Premier League clubs this summer on our dedicated "Transfer Watch" page.

Transfer limits

Every Premier League club are permitted to register a squad of up to 25 players. Each squad must contain no more than 17 players who do not fulfil the "Home Grown Player" criteria.

The remainder must be "Home Grown", although Under-21 players do not count towards the 25-player limit.

A "Home Grown Player" is one who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21).

Other types of transfer

While payment of a transfer fee from one club to another is the primary route of player movement, there remain alternative methods by which players can switch to new teams.

Thanks in no small part to the efforts of Eastham and Bosman, players become free agents at the expiration of their contract and are able to sign for a new club without payment of any fee. All Premier League contracts run until 30 June.

Players can also move from one club to another in loan deals, officially called "temporary transfers". On occasion, those deals will include an obligation for the club to buy the player at the conclusion of the loan period or if certain playing criteria are met.

The Premier League imposes various loan limits on clubs, including a limit of two registered loaned players from other English clubs at any one time. Loans from clubs in other countries do not count towards quotas.

How deals are done

At Premier League level, the vast majority of transfers involve negotiations between the buying and selling clubs, via player agents and other intermediaries.

Given their complex nature, transfers are often not concluded until late in the window.

Should they be required, deal sheets offer a two-hour grace period beyond the transfer window deadline for last-minute moves that have not been fully completed.

To register a player, clubs must submit all documentation to the Premier League, who will then determine whether that registration can be confirmed.

Buying and selling clubs can insist upon the fulfilment of various clauses for a transfer to take place, including how fees may be paid.

Click here to read article