Premier League decision heavily impacts Aston Villa, Wolves, Chelsea, Brighton and Brentford

Premier League and Championship clubs will now have the ability to sign up to four foreign players who do not meet the international visa system requirements.

The Football Association has reached an agreement with the Home Office to allow the points-based system to be ignored for up to four signings this summer.

Then, further down the line, the number of players for subsequent seasons will depend on the number of Englishmen registered in a club’s squad.

For years, the arrival of signings in England from outside of Europe was incredibly difficult in order to make sure only exceptional talent took spots away from home-grown players.

After Brexit, this even became the case for those coming from mainland Europe, with anyone not meeting the Home Office’s visa entry points requirements not allowed to be registered.

The new change will have a huge impact on all teams in the top two tiers of English football. It will also impact those in League One and League Two as they will have up to two foreign signings per term.

West Midlands sides Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers will now be able to give Unai Emery and Julen Lopetegui more freedom as they attempt their respective rebuilds.

Meanwhile, the likes of Chelsea, Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, who are notorious for talent spotting abroad, will have far fewer restrictions as to how many foreign prospects they bring in.

What did the FA statement say?

“The additional access will allow clubs playing in the English league the ability to sign a number of players who do not meet the current points requirements.

“A maximum of four players will be available to Premier League and Championship teams, and two for League One and League Two teams.

“The number of players a club will be able to sign will be proportional to the number of English players they play.

“While each club will get at least two places for players in the first season, they will receive between zero and four depending on the number of English players playing in future seasons.

“The Premier League and EFL have also committed to work with The FA on improving the pathway for talented English youngsters. This solution supports both England player development and clubs’ access to overseas talent.

“The outcomes of both the changes to the GBE system and improvements to the development pathway will be kept under review, which could mean increasing the number of places allowed per club should both be working successfully.”