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Top European leagues to close transfer window at same time

The top five European leagues have agreed to coordinate their transfer windows to close at the same time, avoiding a staggered final day of deals.

Clubs in the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 will have until 7 p.m. UK (8 p.m. CET; 2 p.m. ET) to lodge transfers on deadline day.

There are two windows this summer as a special case, to enable clubs to make transfers ahead of the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup.

The first window opens on June 1 and closes on June 10, and then a secondary window which will shut on Monday, Sept. 1. The main window opens on June 16 in England and July 1 in the other leagues.

While the leagues have always closed their windows on the same day, in the past it has been spread across the evening -- meaning there was the potential for clubs to lose a player and be unable to replace them.

The Bundesliga used to close its window at 5 p.m. UK time, with Serie A at 7 p.m., Ligue 1 at 10 p.m. the Premier League at 11 p.m. and LaLiga at 11.59 p.m.

The leagues have now agreed to fall into line for both the summer and winter windows, closing early evening.

This also gives clubs ample time to complete transfers after a deal sheet has been submitted.

A deal sheet allows additional time to finalise a transfer which is being processed close to the deadline. It's used to indicate an agreement has been reached, and can only be submitted in the final two hours of the window. Once the deadline has passed, clubs have another two hours to submit the full paperwork. This can now be completed in the evening, with all leagues aligned to the same time.