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    Premier League Clubs Vote to Close Summer Transfer Window After Season Begins

    Christopher Simpson@@CJSimpsonBRFeatured ColumnistFebruary 6, 2020

    WATFORD, ENGLAND - JANUARY 18: The Nike Merlin match ball during the Premier League match between Watford FC and Tottenham Hotspur at Vicarage Road on January 18, 2020 in Watford, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
    Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

    The Premier League's 2020-21 summer transfer window will shut on September 1 following a vote by the clubs, bringing it back in line with the rest of Europe. 

    England's top flight announced the news on Thursday via its official website.

    For the past two summers, the Premier League window closed early in August before the start of the season.

    The move had meant new signings were in place before the season began.

    However, players could still be sold to overseas clubs until the European transfer window closed.

    ESPN's Alex Shaw welcomed the Premier League returning in line with their European counterparts:

    Alex Shaw @AlexShawESPN

    Transfer window back to Sep 1 for Premier League (season starts on Aug 8). Common sense prevails.

    Michael Cox and Liam Twomey of The Athletic and football writer David Amoyal disagreed with the decision:

    Michael Cox @Zonal_Marking

    Argh this is a terrible move. It just means the first three weeks are chaos because managers don't know what they're going to be working with across the season. The last two years have been so much better without transfer nonsense getting in the way https://t.co/6bTlZRJ3Hx

    Liam Twomey @liam_twomey

    This is pants. The other top European leagues should have seen sense and followed the Premier League. Silly to have all the transfer window-related uncertainty bleeding into the actual football https://t.co/KuOfn3enq5

    Premier League Clubs Vote to Close Summer Transfer Window After Season Begins
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    David Amoyal @DavidAmoyal

    Deadlines is what brings urgency not length of a window, some clubs wait till very end- doesn’t matter if January 31st, August 8th or September 1st

    Goal's Nizaar Kinsella could see both sides:

    Nizaar Kinsella @NizaarKinsella

    You've got the tension of clubs not knowing who their squads will be as the season goes on versus perhaps a better negotiating environment for clubs against other European leagues.

    This season, the Premier League's buying window shut on August 8, the day before Liverpool kicked off the campaign at home to Norwich City.

    By the time the European deadline came to a close on September 2, Premier League sides had played their first four matches. It will be a similar case next season, with the campaign starting on August 8.

    The end of next season's window would have been August 31, but that falls on a bank holiday in the United Kingdom this year, so it will shut at 5 p.m. BST the following day.