Transfer deadline day 2018: English clubs ready for early deadline

Premier League clubs are getting ready for their earliest deadline day yet - with all English signings having to be done by Thursday at 17:00 BST.

The Premier League and Football League voted to shut the window before the start of the top-flight season, which kicks off on Friday.

Premier League spending during this window has already hit £1bn but is unlikely to match last year's £1.4bn.

Football League clubs can sign loanees and free agents until 31 August.

The change does not affect European clubs, who can still sign players - including Premier League ones - until their respective deadlines later in the month.

What moves are we expecting on deadline day?

Chelsea are in advanced talks to sign Athletic Bilbao keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, and on Wednesday he paid his release clause of £71m to La Liga, which allows him to leave the Spanish club.

That is because Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois looks set to join Real Madrid - with Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic expected to move the other way on loan.

There are no other transfers that seem inevitable on deadline day - but plenty of top clubs are still looking to sign players.

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho says his side face a "difficult season" unless they sign more players.

The Old Trafford club have been linked to several defenders - Tottenham's Toby Alderweireld, Bayern Munich's Jerome Boateng and Leicester's Harry Maguire as well as Eintracht Frankfurt and Croatia winger Ante Rebic.

Tottenham are the only Premier League club not to sign a single player this summer despite manager Mauricio Pochettino saying at the end of last season they would need to "take risks" to improve.

The Argentine wants to add to his squad but will he be able to get any deal done in time?

Real Madrid also reportedly want Blues winger Eden Hazard - while Willian says he wants to stay at Chelsea after being linked with a move away. The Blues are unlikely to let any of them go unless they sign a replacement on Thursday. They have only signed one first-team player since Maurizio Sarri's appointment as manager.

"Like Willian, Hazard is world class now and, if Chelsea are to have a successful season, then Sarri cannot afford to lose either of them," BBC pundit Matt Upson said after the Community Shield.

Arsenal and Liverpool did their business early and are not expected to make any more big signings - but both sides' managers say players could yet leave to trim their squads.

Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez has had another frustrating transfer window, while Burnley's three signings have all come in the final few days.

The early deadline means any signings will be able to feature in the opening games of the Premier League season - which begins with Manchester United v Leicester on Friday (20:00 BST).

In Italy, Inter Milan are being strongly linked to Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric - but no Premier League clubs would be likely to let the European champions sign a midfielder to replace the Croat if that move happened after the English deadline.

Why is it deadline day already?

The move comes after all 72 EFL clubs moved in line with the Premier League, which voted in September 2017 in favour of closing the window before their season starts.

Managers have complained that signing players once the season is under way causes disruption to their squads and preparations.

However, the vote was not unanimous, and clubs will still be able to sell players until the end of August. While the Football Association has moved the goalposts for English clubs, Fifa's official deadline remains Friday, 31 August - meaning English clubs can still sell players abroad, but cannot replace them.

Pochettino has said his side are at a "complete disadvantage" with the rest of Europe.

Italy also has a new deadline - Friday, 17 August - the day before Serie A begins.

The top leagues in Spain, Germany and France - as well as Scotland - all keep a transfer deadline of 31 August.

Has this window been busier as a result of the changes?

In a word. No.

The number of transfers in the summer window has been dropping each year since 2014 - but this year has seen a dramatic fall.

There were slightly more transfers, 27, in June this year than past years [one more than 2015] - but July saw just 37 compared to 52, 57, 46 and 55 in the past four years.

Clubs do not appear to be squeezing lots of transfers into this short window - there have only been 13 in August at the time of writing [Wednesday at 13:00 BST].

What are the big moves of the summer?

The biggest signing of the summer, including possible add-ons, has been Liverpool's recruitment of Roma keeper Alisson for a world record fee for a goalkeeper - £55.8m which could rise to £66.8m. Kepa's move to Chelsea will break that once it is completed.

Manchester City were one of eight clubs to break or equal their club record signing with the £60m purchase of Leicester winger Riyad Mahrez - the biggest initial fee this summer.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh to Brighton, Jean Michael Seri to Fulham, Terence Kongolo to Huddersfield, Felipe Anderson to West Ham, Adama Traore to Wolves and Jefferson Lerma to Bournemouth were all club records - and Burnley equalled theirs when they signed Ben Gibson. In fact the Hammers broke their record twice this summer.

The busiest clubs have been Brighton and Wolves (10), West Ham (eight) and Huddersfield (seven).

So which clubs have spent the most? The answer - beyond runaway leaders Liverpool - might surprise you...

And a few you might have missed

With plenty of focus on the World Cup this summer, there will be plenty of transfers that have gone under the radar. Expect to hear a few shouts of "who is this guy?" on the opening weekend.

How closely have you been paying attention to the transfer window? Take our quiz below to test yourself.