FIFA’s new regulations on the loan market seek, among other things, to limit the number of players that a club have out on loan at any one time.
One of the driving factors behind the rule changes, which ultimately cap the number of players a club can send on loan to overseas team at six by 2024, is to prevent the stockpiling of players, which a handful of top sides in England and Europe have been accused of in recent years.
FIFA’s regulations, which will begin taking effect in the summer of 2022 when the cap starts at eight loans in or eight loans out, are initially only applicable to international deals. But there is an expectation that within three years every member association will also have a domestic loan system that adheres to a similar set of core principles.
There are crucially also exemptions for home-grown players and those aged 21 and younger, which actually make the regulations less restrictive than it might seem at first glance.
Taking into account players who are currently out on loan as an indicator, here’s how the new loan rules stand to affect each of the Premier League ‘big six’…
Arsenal are within the strictest version of the rules set to be applied by 2024, even though the Gunners currently have 16 players out on loan from across their first-team and Under-23 squads.
Seven of those players would be doubly exempt as a result of being both home-grown and aged 21 or under. Most are also at English clubs, which remains exempt until domestic loan regulations catch up with international loan policy.
The nine remaining loans at international clubs also carry a number of exemptions. Hector Bellerin, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Reiss Nelson qualify as home-grown. That means Arsenal currently only have six players out on loan who would count towards the 2024 limit of six, including Pablo Mari, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi and William Saliba.
Chelsea are perhaps the Premier League side many would assume need to do the most work in terms of altering how they utilise the loan system. But the Blues have less to do than you think.
On the face of it, Chelsea have a lot of players out on loan at clubs all over England and Europe – 21 of them. It was 22 until Kenedy’s recent stint at Flamengo came to an end. However, 14 of those, the majority of whom are also on loan at domestic clubs anyway, are classed as home-grown and wouldn’t count towards the quota.
Ethan Ampadu, on loan at Venezia, would be exempt under rules this season because he is only 21, but will lose exemption early next season when he turns 22. Emerson, Michy Batshuayi, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Danny Drinkwater, Baba Rahman, Matt Miazga could count towards the cap.
But until any formal domestic limit is in place, Drinkwater and Baba also wouldn’t necessarily be affected because they are both on loan at Reading. The changes could, however, still encourage Chelsea to shift any deadwood who have no future at the club.
Liverpool are already working well within future regulations, even notwithstanding any differential between domestic and international loans.
Almost all of the 12 professional players registered to the Reds who are currently out on loan will not count towards any quota, whether it is because they are home-grown, aged 21 and under, or both. Ben Davies could count but is on loan at an English club.
Only one Liverpool player would count directly towards the loan cap and that is 22-year-old Colombian Anderson Arroyo, who joined the club in 2018 and is on loan at Mirandes in Spain.
Manchester City have considerably stepped up their recruitment in recent years thanks to a growing global scouting reach. What it has done is given them an army of players, many of whom have been farmed out on loan to provide meaningful professional experience.
At this moment in time there are 36 City players from the first-team squad and elite development side on loan at clubs across England and the wider world.
A lot are exempt from FIFA’s loan rules. But a lot also aren’t. City currently have 12 players on international loans who are over 21 and also not home-grown – that includes Patrick Roberts, Marlos Morenos and a host of other players many fans may be unaware of.
As of July, a maximum of eight players not eligible for exemption can be sent on loan to international clubs, which means that City will have to re-assess how they handle those players and others next season.
Manchester United typically use the loan system as a way of specifically giving young home-grown players exposure to first-team football they are unable to provide themselves. That alone means they would currently be well within the incoming limits.
United have 15 players out on loan at the time of writing, with Facindo Pellistri and Nathan Bishop the only two that cannot be considered home-grown. But Pellistri is under 21 and Bishop is at a club in England. That means none of their current batch would count towards FIFA’s loan limit.
Tottenham currently only have six players out on loan from across their first-team and Under-23 squads, which would make adhering to international loan regulations no problem at all.
Most are at English clubs and five are home-grown. Only Pape Matar Sarr, on loan at Metz, isn’t a product of the Spurs academy, but he is only 19 and so is age exempt.
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