January 2020 transfer window: when does it open and close?

Clubs across England, Scotland and Europe will be able to start making changes to their squads in the January 2020 transfer window.

In January 2019 The Guardian reported that clubs in the top five European leagues completed 519 deals worth £626.1m.

The major Premier League moves saw Miguel Almiron join Newcastle from Atlanta United for £21m and Dominic Solanke leave Liverpool for Bournemouth for £17m.

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Top-flight managers who could go shopping in the new year include Tottenham’s Jose Mourinho, Manchester United’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola.

After being appointed in November Spurs head coach Mourinho is expected to be busy in the market while Guardiola may look to improve his Man City squad as they aim to stop Liverpool from taking their Premier League crown. Man Utd boss Solskjaer is also tipped to spend big in the new year’s sales.

Here we look at the transfer window opening and closing dates for January 2020.

When does the window open?

The Premier League and English Football League transfer window opens on New Year’s Day.

However, the Premier League says new players signed on 1 or 2 January will not be eligible for matchweek 21 fixtures. New signings will be available for the following matchweeks as “clubs are permitted to make changes to their squad lists throughout the January window”.

The transfer window also opens on 1 January for clubs in Scotland, France, Germany and China. The window opens in Italy and Spain on 2 January, in Portugal on 3 January and in Russia on 22 January.

When is transfer deadline day?

Premier League clubs have until 11pm on Friday 31 January 2020 to sign players.

A league official said: “Clubs completing deals late on deadline day, 31 January, will be able to submit a deal sheet between 21:00-23:00 GMT.

“Clubs will have until midnight on deadline day to complete the information needed by Fifa’s Transfer Matching System to apply for international clearance for new signings.”

January 2020 transfer window key dates

Open dates

• 1 January: England, Scotland, France, Germany, China
• 2 January: Italy, Spain
• 3 January: Portugal
• 22 January: Russia

Closing dates

• 31 January: 11pm for the Premier League
• 31 January: Scotland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain
• 2 February: Portugal
• 21 February: Russia
• 27 February: China