PL 'exploring proposals to extend summer transfer window until end of Jan'

English football are exploring radical proposals to extend the summer transfer window until the end of January.

There is huge uncertainty over how the summer window, which is due to open on July 1 and close on August 31, will comprise given the delay in competition owing to the coronavirus.

There are no guarantees that this season will be completed by the end of June, a scenario which would create chaos to the summer window.

But Sportsmail understands the football authorities are considering radical plans to have one prolonged transfer window that would run from the end of the current campaign until the end of January - when the winter window would normally close - next season.

Such a move would represent a throwback to pre-transfer window rules when clubs were allowed to trade all year round.

Premier League sides are bound by FIFA regulations on transfers; and world football's governing body has opened a taskforce to deal with the problems posed by the suspension in action to the transfer system.

The taskforce will also look at the implications the delay will have on player contracts, particularly those that expire on June 30, while agents are also lobbying to be kept updated on developments regarding the summer window.

A FIFA spokesman said: 'On 18 March the Bureau of the FIFA Council decided to establish a FIFA-Confederations Working Group in response to COVID-19.

'This Working Group will assess the need for amendments or temporary dispensations to the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players' to protect contracts for both players and clubs and adjusting player registration periods.

'This work has already started and will be conducted in consultation with all key stakeholders, including confederations, member associations, clubs, leagues and players.'