25/04 - 20:00
Premier League clubs have voted to alter the summer transfer window to bring it into step with the rest of Europe.
For the previous two seasons, the English transfer window has closed a day prior to the start of the top-flight campaign.
A Premier League statement said that the deadline had been shifted to the "traditional point at the end of August/early September".
The 2020 summer window will now slam shut on 1 September at 17:00 BST.
The vote was taken at a shareholders' meeting on Thursday in London.
An experiment that didn't work out
The fact Europe's major leagues didn't back the move to the start of August, as implemented by the Premier League, is perhaps the main factor behind this shift to September: as clubs were finding themselves unable to replace players that were attracting interest from abroad once the English window had closed.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has previously spoked about the importance of synching the Premier League transfer window with Europe.
"I don't care when it closes, but it must close at the same time," he said back in September. "They spoke about finishing it before the season starts. Good idea, but only England did it. That makes no sense. It was a good idea but it didn't work out."
At a Shareholders’ Meeting today, #PL clubs voted to adopt a change to the Summer Transfer Window closing date for season 2020/21
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 6, 2020
The 2020 closing date will therefore be 17:00 BST on 1 September
Full statement: https://t.co/YPf7LW1Sx8 pic.twitter.com/hiv7cnSqec
