When does the summer transfer window shut: key closing dates for Premier League, EFL and Scottish Premiership

The football headlines have been dominated by transfer activity in recent months as Europe’s biggest clubs aim to strengthen their squad at the start of the new campaign.

Chelsea and Arsenal are two of the biggest spenders in the Premier League this summer and the two London giants have both smashed their transfer records to bring in Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice. Other notable signings around Europe include Jude Bellingham’s sensational move to Real Madrid, which made him the most expensive English footballer of all time and Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich after an incredible 14-year spell in the Tottenham first team.

Football clubs only have a short window of opportunity left to make any further deals and fans can expect to see plenty of frantic activity on transfer deadline. But when does the summer transfer window close and what is the meaning of a deal sheet? Here’s your complete guide to transfer deadline day around Europe.

When does the summer transfer window close?

The Premier League summer transfer window will close on Friday 1 September at 11pm UK time.

The same rules will also apply in the English Football League, along with Spain, Germany, Italy and France but Scottish Premiership sides will have an extra hour to conduct their business with their window closing at midnight.

The Women’s Super League has a transfer window which runs until Thursday 14 September.

Can clubs sign players after the deadline?

Clubs are free to sign free agents after the deadline, but deals involving other clubs can only run on after the deadline if a deal sheet has been submitted.

What is a deal sheet?

A deal sheet is something which a football club must submit to the FA if paperwork involving a transfer takes longer than expected.

The sheet must be signed by both clubs involved in the transfer and submitted before the deadline. If a deal sheet is approved then clubs are given an extra two hours to complete a transfer, which stretches the deadline to 1am on Saturday 2 September.

When do clubs need to submit their squad list?

Top-flight clubs are required to submit their 25 man squad for the season on Wednesday 13 September.

Clubs are still able to sign free agents after that point, but they new recruits are not able to play for the team until the start of the January transfer window.

When does the Saudi transfer window close?

Saudi Arabia has emerged as a new superpower in the world of sport and football is no exception.  The wealth of the Saudi Pro League has enticed a number of elite footballers this summer such as Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane, Ruben Neves and Roberto Firmino.

A number of teams such as Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr have invested huge sums of money on new recruits and it is likely that there will be further moves in the coming weeks.

There has been some confusion over the exact closing date of the window as FIFA has 20 September listed as the deadline.

Meanwhile the Saudi Arabian Football Federation website states that 7 September is the cut off point for registering players.

Either way the league has extra time to lure players from European Leagues which has led to criticism from Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp who has urged FIFA and UEFA to find a solution.