JANUARY offers Premier League managers a chance to refresh their squad mid-season with the winter transfer window open for over a month.

It is a notoriously difficult window to find good value in but has proven key to clubs pushing on to achieve their aims in past seasons.

Saints look set for the drop down to the Championship after a historically bad start to their second Premier League campaign under Sport Republic.

Manager Ivan Juric has kept his cards close to his chest but, despite their likely fate, Saints could make some moves ahead of the deadline in February.

Here is everything you need to know about the January transfer window...

When does the transfer window close?

The transfer window opened in England on Wednesday, January 1, and lasts until the winter transfer deadline on Monday, February 3, 2025.

This date covered all major European leagues but in England, the window will close at 11pm, with varying deadlines across the continent.

The Bundesliga deadline is first at 5pm (UK time) followed by Serie A (7pm), Ligue 1 in France (10pm) and finally, La Liga, which like England, is 11pm.

If a late transfer is agreed between two clubs, the Premier League grants additional time for the relevant documentation to be completed and submitted.

A deal sheet can be sent to authorities to indicate that a transfer agreement has been reached, after which the clubs are handed an additional two hours.

Which countries can still sign players after that date?

In the Netherlands and Portugal, teams will have an extra day to finish their business before the transfer window closes on Tuesday, February 4, 2025.

Turkey also has longer, until Tuesday, February 11, while Switzerland closes on Monday, February 17, and Poland on Saturday, February 22.

While these could present opportunities for Saints to make sales, the Saudi Arabian window closes earlier than those in Europe, on Friday, January 31.

What are the Premier League squad list rules?

Teams in England are able to make as many changes to their Premier League squad list as they want during the January window.

There are no restrictions to additions outside of the overall limit of a maximum 25 over-21 first-team players, of whom at least eight must be homegrown.

In this instance, homegrown is defined as someone of any nationality who was 21 or older on January 1, 2024, and spent a total of three years registered to an English or Welsh club prior to the end of the season in which he turned 21.

Managers can supplement the squad with any number of under-21 players (born on or after January 1, 2003) whatever their country of birth.

What are the loan rules?

When trading with other English clubs, Premier League clubs may not register more than two players on loan at any one time.

The maximum number of domestic loans registrable in the same season is four, and no more than one can be from the same club at any one time.

FIFA caps the number of international loans a club is allowed at six a season, meaning clubs can loan foreign players on top of their two domestic signings.

Premier League clubs also cannot loan to another Premier League club a player they have acquired in the same transfer window.