Premier League clubs must submit their squad lists for the first half of the 2024-25 season by the end of tomorrow (Friday), with some players more nailed-on to be included than others.
Squad depth is crucial to allow managers/head coaches to navigate injuries, rotate out-of-form players and be more tactically flexible throughout the 38-game Premier League campaign. With this in mind, eyes will be particularly drawn to Chelsea’s final list after another hectic summer transfer window at Stamford Bridge.
But what are the rules on clubs naming their Premier League squads, and how do they differ from those of UEFA, European football’s governing body?
When do Premier League clubs have to finalise their squads?
After the conclusion of the 2024 summer transfer window, clubs are expected to have submitted their Premier League squad list by Saturday, September 14 — before the resumption of the competition that afternoon following the season’s first international break.
Squad lists should consist of 25 players, although it is possible to have more or fewer players than this involved during the Premier League campaign.
What are the rules for the squad list?
A squad list can have 25 players, of which only 17 can be non-“homegrown”.
A “homegrown” player must have been playing for any club associated with the Football Association (FA) or the Football Association of Wales (so, any registered club in England or Wales) for at least three seasons before their 21st birthday. These three seasons do not have to be continuous and the player can be of any nationality. One high-profile example of a homegrown player not eligible for England is Arsenal and France centre-back William Saliba.
The “homegrown” eligibility is different from that required to have England national team eligibility, as dictated by the sport’s global governing body FIFA, which requires you to be born in England, for your parents or a grandparent to be born there, or for you to be a naturalised citizen or to have a British passport.
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This squad list is binding until the next transfer window opens in January, where clubs can change it pending ins and outs.
What about players aged under 21?
Players under the age of 21 (those born on or after January 1, 2023) — such as Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo and Manchester City’s Rico Lewis (both 19) — are not included in a club’s 25-man squad list but are eligible to play for them in the Premier League.
Mainoo would not need to be included in the 25-man squad (Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
Are the rules different for the UEFA competitions?
UEFA’s three club competitions require a List A and a List B of squads.
The List A squad consists of 25 players, including at least two goalkeepers, and with a minimum of eight “locally trained” players. Of these, there can be no more than four “association-trained” players. A “locally trained” player must have been on a club’s books for three seasons (or 36 months) between the ages of 15 and 21. An “association-trained” player can have been at another club in the same association (country), having also played there for three seasons (or 36 months) between 15 and 21.
List B consists of players under 21 (so for this season, born on or after January 1, 2003). To qualify, they must have been at the club for a minimum of two years between the ages of 15 and 21 (or for the past two seasons if the player is 16).
List A squads were due to be submitted to UEFA by September 3 but List B gets submitted the day before each match.
If teams progress from the new league phase of the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League, they are afforded three new players to register before the round of 16. These can include players who appeared for another team in the league phase and then moved in the January window, but clubs still have to stick with a 25-player List A containing eight “locally-trained” players.
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Chelsea recently left Cole Palmer out of their Conference League List A squad for their six league-phase matches. Palmer would be classed as an “association-trained” player, having come through at Manchester City’s academy from the age of eight until signing for Chelsea last summer, but if the Londoners progress to the knockout stage, he can replace someone on List A after the league phase as one of the three new players.
(Harriet Lander – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Anything else we should know?
One requirement for clubs, within the Premier League handbook, is to provide a team photo by the end of September with the club’s squad list and any under-21 players the club believe will play regularly in domestic league matches.
Premier League teams must also give every player registered to their squad list a Sport Concussion Assessment Tool, either when signed or at least every two years. If the player has suffered a recent concussion, the assessment should be delayed until they are fully recovered and have been playing, either in full training or matches, for at least a month.
(Top photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
