Chelsea Dealt Transfer Curveball As Premier League Rivals Agree On New Rule Amid Striker Pursuit

New Premier League rule passed

Chelsea have been dealt a major blow to their recruitment plans ahead of the January transfer window. According to widespread reports, Premier League clubs have voted in favour of limiting amortisation of new contracts to maximum of five years.

Deals can still be longer but amortisation can not – previously, there was no cap but the English top-flight are now in line with UEFA, who introduced the same rule six months ago. The Athletic add that Chelsea were one of 15 clubs to voted in favour of the new transfer rule, with two against and three abstentions.

Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk both penned eight-and-a-half-year contracts upon their arrivals in January — the longest ever in Premier League history. And, under a process called amortisation, the transfer fee payments which Chelsea will pay for the duo have been spread out across the length of their respective deals in order to meet Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

Had they signed a shorter deal instead then the annual payment calculation would be much higher, making it far harder for the Blues to comply with FFP regulations. Despite outside pressure, Chelsea went and tied Moises Caicedo down to a similar deal in the summer.

Toney transfer 'risk worth taking'

Ivan Toney is a priority target for Arsenal and Chelsea ahead of the upcoming transfer window, Chelsea have to get a centre forward in January. How many teams do anything without a centre forward? What will Arsenal's downfall potentially be this season? It will be no centre forward. They dominated Aston Villa at the weekend, but they couldn't score a goal.

Ivan Toney could be in demand. Sometimes you become a better player when you are out of the game. But will Brentford sell him?

I don't think they can afford to, especially with a couple of their players going to the Africa Cup of Nations. Does Toney want to go? Will he want to show some loyalty to Brentford? It's a really hard one to call.

James update

Chelsea have been dealt a major blow to their hopes of clinching Champions League qualification this season. Reece James suffered a hamstring injury during the first-half of the Blues' clash against Everton at the weekend after only recently returning from the treatment room.

Mauricio Pochettino would have been hoping that James' injury wasn't too serious with a fixture-filled festive period already underway. However, the west Londoners have now issued an official statement confirming the England international's will be out for at least 3 months