How Brexit will affect West Ham next month

The Football Association has revealed how Premier League clubs including West Ham United will be affected by the new post-Brexit transfer rules in January.

The plan involves entry requirements for overseas players and also states the number of foreign players that clubs are allowed to sign.

The Home Office has approved a post-Brexit plan created by officials from the FA, the Premier League and the English Football League.

Clubs will have to follow a new set of criteria when signing overseas players once we leave the European Union on December 31st.

According to Sky Sports, The Hammers and all other Premier League clubs will not be allowed to sign foreign players who are under 18 once the date is reached.

West Ham and other clubs will also be limited to three overseas signings for players under the age of 21.

They can only sign six foreign players per season from December 31st onwards.

Once Brexit is completed, players from European Union countries will have to gain a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) in order to sign for a club in the UK.

That is the system which is currently in place for players outside of the EU. When considering a player, the body will take into account multiple factors as part of a points system.

Their youth and senior international appearances will be considered, alongside their club appearances, the quality of the selling club and the quality of their league.

Players who reach the points threshold will automatically be accepted, while those who fail will be considered by an exceptions panel.

It will be interesting to see how the rule changes impact Premier League squads.

Clubs may be forced to use their academies more often as they cannot sign as many young players from overseas clubs.

They might also be beaten to the best young talents by their European rivals, who won’t need to wait until they reach the age of 18 before signing them.