UEFA chief Ceferin backs Wenger, prefers short transfer window

Add as a preferred source on Google

European football's governing body has backed the new radical proposal to shorten the transfer window so that it closes before the start of a new season.

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger was one of the proponents of this idea and it was endorsed by UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.

Premier League clubs are set to vote on the proposal after the situations of a number of high-profile players, including Alexis Sanchez, Diego Costa and Philippe Coutinho, overshadowed their teams' opening fixtures.

But a change to the transfer window would likely need to be rolled out across Europe to be effective and Ceferin's backing could be decisive.

"I am aware there are serious discussions around Europe regarding the shortening of the summer transfer window and we are following them closely," Caferin was quoted as saying The Times.

"In my view, it is not good when footballers play for one club when the league starts and another club when the transfer window closes. There is a lot of uncertainty for a long time.

"Therefore I would say that the window might be too long and I would support it being shorter."

Earlier, Wenger had also called for January's mid-season transfer window to be scrapped entirely due to players being unsettled by speculation linking them with new clubs.

"The players who do not play or the players who are tapped up in October, they already start again to think, 'Where do I go in January?'" Wenger was quoted as saying in beIN Sports.