Can January signings play in the Champions League and Europa League or will they be cup-tied?
THERE’S no better feeling than hearing your favourite football team has bolstered their squad in January – but can they represent two different teams in a European competition.
Previously, three new players could be added to the squad between the groups and knock-out stages as long as they had not played in the competition for another club.
And this rule affected Philippe Coutinho when he made his mega £142million switch from Liverpool to Barcelona as the Brazilian had already represented the Reds in the Champions League that season.
Clubs playing in Europe must still stick to the 25-man limit on ‘List A’ – players born before January 1, 1998 – and meet the quota of eight ‘locally-trained players’.
However, there has been a slight tweak in what competitions January signings can be involved in.
Can January signings still play in the Champions League and Europa League?
Since the 2018/19 season, UEFA confirmed that it no longer matters whether players have played in the same competition for another club, even for another club still in the competition.
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But teams can still only register a maximum of three new eligible players during the January transfer window.
Clubs have to communicate their squad changes by 11pm UK time on Thursday February 2, 2023.
And once all teams changes have been approved, UEFA will release the full squad lists.
Who has been a recent winter squad edition?
There has been some big names who have made the switch in time for the new changes.
- Luis Diaz (Porto to Liverpool) – 2022
- Dominik Szoboszlai (Salzburg to Leipzig) – 2021
- Erling Haaland (Salzburg to Dortmund) – 2020
- Dani Olmo (Dinamo Zagreb to Leipzig) – 2020
- Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United) – 2020
- Takumi Minamino (Salzburg to Liverpool) – 2019
- Pepe (Besiktas to Porto) – 2019
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When does the January transfer window 2023 open?
The Premier League transfer window opens on Sunday January 1, 2023 but different leagues across Europe have different dates.
Open date by league:
- Premier League – Sunday January 1, 2023
- EFL – Sunday January 1, 2023
- WSL – Sunday January 1, 2023
- Scotland – Sunday January 1, 2023
- Bundesliga – Sunday January 1, 2023
- Serie A – Monday January 2, 2023
- La Liga – Monday January 2, 2023
- Ligue 1 – Monday January 2, 2023