Newcastle United receive transfer deadline day boost - Leeds and Sunderland to miss out

Newcastle United look set to end another winter transfer window without adding a single senior player to Eddie Howe’s squad. PSR continues to bite on Tyneside with the club reluctant to push those boundaries this month and instead bank the money to go again when the summer window opens.

However, never say never and with just a few hours of the transfer window to go, there is still the possibility, albeit remote, that they could complete a late deal. If that was to be the case, then they will need every second possible to get a deal over the line.

Fortunately for the Magpies, they are one of a handful of clubs that can get a two-hour extension to the 11pm deadline tonight if they submit a transfer ‘deal sheet’ in time. Here, we explain what a ‘deal sheet’ is and why EFL clubs are not able to benefit from them today:

What is a transfer ‘deal sheet’?

A transfer ‘deal sheet’ is essentially some paperwork that must be filled in by both the buying and selling club and submitted to the Premier League before the 11pm deadline to allow a transfer to be completed. A ‘deal sheet’ outlines who is involved in the transfer, both clubs and players, whether it is a loan or permanent deal and the finances involved.

A deal can only progress past the 11pm cut-off only when this ‘deal sheet’ is signed by both clubs and sent to the Premier League.

The Premier League’s explanation on what a ‘deal sheet’ is reads: ‘Clubs sometimes conclude deals at the last minute and it is not always easy for them to get everything completed and sent over by the deadline.

‘The deal sheet allows a club to confirm that a deal has been reached in order to allow for additional time to submit the remaining documentation. For a deadline of 23:00, the deal sheet cannot be used before 21:00 and needs to arrive fully completed before the transfer window closes.

‘Once the sheet arrives, clubs have got another two hours, or until 01:00, in which to submit the full paperwork. But if a club are looking to complete an international transfer, they still have to comply with the FIFA Transfer Matching System (TMS) deadline of midnight.’

Why the rules differ in the EFL…

Whilst Premier League clubs can use this ‘deal sheet’ to extend the time they have to complete deals by two hours, EFL clubs do not have the same luxury. The 11pm deadline in the EFL is a hard one, meaning any deal that is not completed by that time will be rejected and cannot proceed.

An explanation from the EFL reads: ‘The transfer window will close at 23:00:00. Any applications received on or after this time will be rejected as being out of time. Once the transfer window has closed, Clubs are only able to register an ‘Out of Registration’ player or an Emergency Loan Goalkeeper (in accordance with Regulation 58).’

This means that clubs like Leeds United, Sunderland and Middlesbrough, the latter two of whom play against each other at the Riverside Stadium tonight, cannot complete deals beyond 11pm.

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