The Premier League are hoping to persuade the other major European Leagues to bring forward the transfer window so that it closes next summer before the start of the season.
Many clubs are left frustrated by the fact that they currently lose some of their best players after the season has started, which can upset their plans for the campaign ahead, and also causes some unrest in the dressing room.
The idea has been tried before – Arsène Wenger was a big advocate of the idea when he was manager of Arsenal. But because the rest of Europe did not buy into the plan, that left the Premier League clubs at a disadvantage, and the policy was abandoned.
This time, there appears much greater unity of feeling, and might even have been agreed this summer, but for the opposition of Barcelona, whose financial issues meant they could only make their transfer moves at a late stage in the window.
