Liverpool sent letter from Premier League as warning issued over 'fraudulent' transfers

The Premier League has issued a stern reminder to Liverpool and the rest of the Premier League about the consequences of engaging in 'fraudulent' transfer dealings. This comes just after a flurry of eyebrow-raising transactions across the league.

In the spotlight recently are Everton, who've raised eyebrows with their acquisition of England Under-20 star Tim Iroegbunam from Aston Villa for a cool $11m (£9m/€10.5m). At the same time, homegrown talent Lewis Dobbin headed to Villa in a deal that curiously mirrored the price tag.

Aston Villa isn't stopping there and is on the brink of agreeing a deal with Chelsea for Omari Kellyman, with a valuation close to $24m (£19m/€22m). Following Kellyman's anticipated switch to the Blues, it's expected that Ian Maatsen will swap his Chelsea blues for Villa colors.

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These intricate deals have brought scrutiny, with accusations flying that the clubs involved are attempting to artificially inflate their financial figures to meet the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules before the fiscal deadline on June 30.

Now, as per the Telegraph, the Premier League has taken the step of writing to all 20 member clubs, cautioning them that any transfer activity found to be fraudulent will not go unpunished. The report further mentions that the league could demand insights into the negotiation processes to verify that the deals were made in "good faith".

If the Premier League determines that a transfer wasn't conducted at "arm's length", they have the authority to enforce fair market value rules on a transaction to prevent any "false inflation" in transfers and commercial deals.

Consequently, the Premier League has the power to require the repayment of a transfer fee, either partially or in full, if it's decided that the fee was artificially inflated and the deal wasn't made in "good faith".

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Liverpool ECHO by clicking here.