Manchester City will have to find a new way to maximise profit in their academy when new Brexit rules arrive.
A statement from the FA, Premier League and EFL on Tuesday confirmed that as of the next transfer window in January 2021 clubs will no longer be able to sign players from overseas until they are 18. In addition, the number of overseas U21 players a club can sign will be limited to three in the January transfer window and six per season in a bid to boost homegrown talent as well as ensure that only the best foreign prospects are signing for English clubs.
City have plenty of homegrown talent coming through: Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tommy Doyle, Cole Palmer and Liam Delap have joined Phil Foden in the first team squad while the club have moved to sign more British youngsters in recent windows.
However, they have also made a handsome profit on signing players from the continent before they turned 18 that has helped their overall transfer strategy and sustainability.
City have generated over £150m from selling academy products, with Brahim Diaz (£15m), Pablo Maffeo (£8.8m), Rony Lopes (£9m) and Jason Denayer (£9m) all examples of players signed before the age of 18 from abroad before moving on for significant fees.
The Blues turned down close to £20m for centre-back Eric Garcia this summer from Barcelona but could receive a fee in January, while left-back Angelino needs just five appearances in the second half of the campaign for RB Leipzig for his loan deal to be turned into a permanent signing for north of £16m.
