West Ham Transfer Clock Ticking As Burnley Deadline Looms

By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)

West Ham’s transfer team are now racing against the clock if Nuno Espírito Santo is to have any new signings available for Sunday’s Championship opener at Burnley.

Unlike Premier League rules which stipulate all player registrations must be completed by noon on the last working day before an upcoming match, the EFL are a little more lenient by stipulating it should be done the day before.

This means West Ham must submit a player’s registration to the EFL by 12 noon on Saturday, the day before Sunday’s 4pm game at Turf Moor.

The EFL’s current transfer regulations confirm that documents must be submitted before noon on the day prior to the relevant match.

Friday would be far more comfortable

The paperwork must still be checked and found to be in order by both the EFL and Football Association, with any other necessary clearance also needing to be completed before a player can actually play.

So realistically, West Ham would surely want any transfer wrapped up by Friday rather than risk leaving everything until the last minute. This deadline would perhaps explain why Arne Engels is rushing down for his medical today as West Ham race to get the transfer with Celtic wrapped up.

The EFL has previously explained the rule, stating that documents have to be submitted before 12 noon on the day prior to a match. Applications received after that point can still be processed, but the player will not be eligible for that fixture.

Realistically, this means the Hammers are running out of time to get any new faces through the London Stadium’s revolving doors before Sunday.

Squeaky bum time for West Ham

Nuno could certainly do with the reinforcements. West Ham’s Championship campaign begins with a difficult trip to Burnley and the squad still doesn’t look like the finished article.

Therefore, I think we’ll have a certain amount of squeaky bum time over the next couple of days. The likelihood is that Engels could squeeze through but any deal for Troy Parrott will have to wait.

Even if transfers are completed after Saturday’s deadline, they can obviously still strengthen West Ham for the remainder of the campaign. But if Nuno wants any of those new faces available at Turf Moor, the clock is now very much ticking.