Chelsea news: FIFA loan rules unlikely to undermine club’s transfer model

New Fifa loan rules designed to prevent wealthy clubs from hoarding talent are not set to hurt Chelsea’s transfer model.

The world governing body will enforce limits on the number of players clubs can send and take on loan internationally, two years after new rules were delayed by the pandemic.

Provided the regulations are given final approval by the Fifa Council, between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023 clubs will be limited to a maximum of eight international loan signings in and eight loaned out, dropping to seven in 2023-24 and remaining at six from 2024-25.

Short loans will be prevented, with the minimum length being between two transfer windows, while the longest loan length possible will be a year.

The rules do not cover domestic loans, but Fifa has said national associations must bring their regulations in line within three years - so by July 1, 2025 at the latest. Furthermore, players under 21 or those that are defined as "club trained" by Fifa, are exempt.

Chelsea have been heavily criticised in recent years for stockpiling talent and sending huge numbers of players out on loan each season. That approach has cooled in recent years with more academy players given their chance in the first team or sold on.

Even under the new guidelines, the west Londoners are unlikely to be impacted in how they do their business.

The Blues currently list 21 players out on loan, with eight players with clubs outside of English football. However, only three of these fall outside of the exemptions meaning that - if the rules were in place now - the Champions League winners would be comfortably inside the limit.