The frantic final hours of the winter transfer window are upon us, with clubs across the globe scrambling to finalise last-minute deals before the deadline slams shut. Today, Monday, February 2, 2026, marks the culmination of a month of speculation, negotiation, and high-stakes manoeuvring in the football world.
What Time Does the Transfer Window Close Today?
For the majority of major European leagues, a significant alignment has occurred this year. The Premier League, the English Football League (EFL), Germany's Bundesliga, Italy's Serie A, and France's Ligue 1 will all officially close their transfer windows at precisely 7pm GMT this evening.
Notable Exceptions to the 7pm Deadline
However, there are two prominent exceptions to this unified closing time. The Scottish Premiership and Spain's LaLiga have set their respective deadlines for 11pm GMT, granting clubs in those leagues a valuable extra four hours to complete their business.
Deadline Day Rules and Crucial Loopholes Explained
The final hours are governed by a set of specific regulations designed to manage the chaos, yet they also contain important provisions that can offer clubs a lifeline.
The 'Deal Sheet' Safety Net
Perhaps the most critical rule for clubs pushing up against the wire is the 'deal sheet' provision. If a club is locked in advanced negotiations for a player just before the 7pm deadline, all is not lost. Between 5pm and 7pm, clubs can submit this formal document to the relevant authorities.
This grants them an additional two-hour extension to finalise all the necessary paperwork, but with one strict condition: a full agreement in principle must already have been reached between all parties involved.
The crucial catch: This deal sheet loophole applies only to domestic transfers within the Premier League and the EFL. For any international move involving a player coming from or going to a club outside England, clubs must ensure all documentation is fully processed through FIFA's Transfer Matching System (TMS) by the original 7pm deadline, with no extension available.
Free Agents and the Squad Registration Deadline
The 7pm deadline applies specifically to players who are currently under contract and registered with a club. For players who are free agents—having been released from their previous contracts—the rules are different.
A free agent can technically be signed by a club at any point, even after the transfer window has closed. However, there is a critical subsequent deadline that effectively limits this freedom. All clubs must submit their updated 25-man squad lists for the second half of the season by February 5, 2026.
Therefore, to be eligible to play in the remainder of the campaign, any free agent must be signed and formally registered by this squad list cutoff, just three days after the main window shuts.
Loan Deal Regulations
Loan arrangements are treated with the same urgency as permanent transfers and must be completed by the 7pm deadline. In the Premier League, specific restrictions are in place: teams are permitted a maximum of two domestic loan players in their squad at any one time, and they can only register a total of four loan players throughout the entire season.
As the clock ticks down, the focus intensifies on boardrooms and training grounds. While the window slams shut for most at 7pm, the strategic use of deal sheets and the ongoing possibility of free agent signings mean the business of team-building continues in its own specialised form right up to the squad registration deadline.
