Premier League wants compensation fee cap for academy stars from EFL clubs

The Premier League wants EFL clubs to agree to cap the compensation fees they pay for signing youngsters from lower-division academies.

Under current rules clubs receive compensation for the loss of young players through a combination of fixed training compensation, appearance-based payments and sell-on entitlements, which involves an element of negotiation.

If the two parties are unable to agree, when a player is offered scholarship terms by another club the matter is referred to an independent tribunal, the Professional Football Compensation Committee.

The Premier League is understood to have approached the EFL with a proposal to cap the maximum that can be paid, with discussions ongoing. Premier League clubs are also compensated when their players leave for EFL academies, so the change would also cap the fees they receive.

The issue is due to be discussed by the EFL clubs at meetings on Wednesday as part of a wider debate on youth development, although the proposal is not expected to be put to a vote at this stage.

Premier League clubs have been increasingly targeting players from lower-division academies, a trend many in the sport have attributed to the impact of Brexit.

Since the UK left the EU in 2020 it has become more difficult for British clubs to sign under-18s from Europe, because they are no longer eligible for governing body endorsements, which has led to increased demand for English youngsters.

The EFL clubs will also discuss whether to implement their own version of the Premier League’s new squad cost ratio rules, which will cap spending on player costs at 85% of turnover, before voting on Thursday on whether to expand the Championship playoffs to six teams next season.

The new format would in effect add a single-leg quarter-final stage to the playoffs, with the fifth-placed team playing the club that finished eighth and sixth meeting seventh to determine progression to the two-leg playoff semi-finals against the clubs that finished third and fourth.

The proposal has been ratified by the Football Association board, and is expected to gain the two-thirds majority of the vote required to be introduced.

The Premier League and EFL declined to comment.