The International FA Board’s (Ifab) technical and football panels has listened to plans to make the five substitution rule a permanent one.
The Times claims that the temporary rule could become a permanent one with a number of footballing bodies supporting the proposals.
The number of substitutions temporarily increased last season as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic when matches were crammed into a short schedule.
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The Premier League initially took up the rule change for the remainder of the 2020 season, but opted to revert back to the original three substitutions for the beginning of last season, despite calls from managers to stick with five changes.
The likes of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola were advocates for accepting the permanent change, but other clubs believed this gave those with stronger squads and unfair advantage.
Newcastle were among the Premier League clubs to object to the proposals alongside nine other top flight clubs.
The motion needed 14 votes to pass a vote in December last year, but that motion would fail.
However, the proposal is now set to go to the Ifab’s business meeting next month and could be rubber-stamped at the annual general meeting in March.
It would put increased pressure on the Premier League to adopt the practice which is now widespread in the rest of Europe as well as the Champions League and Europa League.
A source at the meeting told The Times: “There is a lot of support about bringing five substitutes in as a permanent option. The meeting agreed generally that this would be good for the game.”
The source also claimed that clubs in France, Spain and Italy were now accustomed to making five substitutes and were reluctant to go back to the previous rules.
