Brexit Vote Could Have Stopped Anthony Martial, Major Premier League Transfers

Anthony Martial’s move to Manchester United would not have been allowed to go through had the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union earlier, it has been reported.

Per BBC, after voting on Thursday, it was confirmed the UK did vote for a Brexit. In terms of football, there is set to be a significant impact in terms of player recruitment from the continent with work permit regulations set to be tightened.

As reported by Ben Reynolds of Sky Sports, investment banker Keith Harris suggested transfers involving Martial, West Ham United’s Dimitri Payet, N’Golo Kante of Leicester City and Everton striker Romelu Lukaku would have been affected:

"

There are four players that we can reflect on and the impact they had on their clubs last year, who may not have been able to come in. 

Kante, who had a huge impact at Leicester, Martial at Manchester United, Lukaku at Everton and Payet at West Ham. I wonder how attractive the Premier League would have been and how well those clubs would have done without those specific players, and that's the kind of thing we are now speculating about.

"

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Reynold noted that currently a player from one of the team’s top 10 highest-ranked football nations must have played 30 per cent of the national team’s games in the previous two years to be eligible for a work permit; that number increases to 45, 60 and 75 per cent for nations ranked 11-20, 21-30 and 31-50, respectively.

There are other potential impacts of the vote, too. Dale Johnson of ESPN FC noted how the acquisition of younger players from abroad will change for English clubs:

Johnson goes on to cite Arsenal’s signing of Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona when he was a 16-year-old as an example of a deal that would not go ahead under new rules.

While less foreign names could be coming into the Premier League, the merits of a Brexit for English football were hailed by former England international goalkeeper David James prior to polling.

“Traditionally it seems in England, English managers are more likely to side with English players or British players, whereas foreign managers are more likely to side with foreign players,” said the former England goalkeeper, per David Churchill of the Evening Standard. “So of course leaving would give British players more of a chance.”