Brexit 'may affect arrival of EU players in Premier League'

By Danielle Joynson, Staff Reporter | 24 June 2016

Investment banker Keith Harris says that some of the Premier League's star players may not have been allowed to join their respective clubs if the UK had already left the EU.

Investment banker Keith Harris has claimed that a number of influential players in the Premier League last season may not have been able to compete in the top flight had the United Kingdom already left the European Union.

It was announced on Friday that 51.9% of voters chose Brexit, compared to 48.1%, who opted to remain in the European Union.

It is expected to take two years for the exiting process to be completed, and by that point, players from EU countries are likely to be subjected to the same rules that apply to non-EU players joining Premier League clubs.

At the moment, rules state that a non-EU player from a top-10 nation needs to have played in 30% of their games in the two years before applying for a work permit.

An international player who represents countries ranked from 11th to 20th must have played in 45% of matches, while the next 10 nations and those listed 31st to 50th need to have featured in 60% and 75% of games respectively.

In an interview with Sky Sports News, Harris claimed that the likes of Dimitri Payet, Anthony Martial, N'Golo Kante and Romelu Lukaku may not have been allowed to move to the Premier League if the UK had already voted out of the European Union.

"It was a shock result," said Harris. "There are four players that we can reflect on and the impact they had on their clubs last year, who may not have been able to come in.

"Kante, who had a huge impact at Leicester, Martial at Manchester United, Lukaku at Everton and Payet at West Ham. I wonder how attractive the Premier League would have been and how well those clubs would have done without those specific players, and that's the kind of thing we are now speculating about."

Harris added that given the current state of the market, it could cost prospective football club buyers 10% less to purchase a top-flight outfit.