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Football London
Football London
Sport
Connor O'Neill

The player eligibility rules that could affect Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham in Europe

European football returns after the international break as both the Champions League and Europa League return for matchday three.

That means Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham will all be back in action in Europe, with the Blues and Lilywhites involved in the Champions League and the Gunners looking to continue their fine start in the Europa League.

Spurs, who are without a win in this year's Champions League, will be looking to bounce back after being thrashed 7-2 by Bayern Munich in their second group game.

While Chelsea will be looking to build on their impressive win away at Lille on matchday two, when they take on last season's beaten semi-finalists Ajax at the Johan Cruijff ArenA.

Over in the Europa League, Arsenal have two wins from two and can all but seal their passage into the knockout rounds with a win against Vitória S.C at the Emirates. 

Talking of the knockout rounds, attention will soon start turning to whether any new recruits secured in the January transfer window will be able to play for their new side.

And here is everything fans need to know on player eligibility for the knockout rounds of both competitions.

What are the rules?

UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League clubs who qualify for the knockout rounds will be allowed to register a maximum of three new eligible players.

But unlike in previous seasons, it no longer matters if those players have already played in the competition for another club, or for another club still in the competition.

Champions League 2019/20 group stage draw

When will squad changes be confirmed?

Clubs must communicate their desired squad changes on February 1 at the latest.

Once all 16 teams' changes are approved by UEFA, the full list of ins and outs will be published on UEFA.com.

What exactly do the regulations say?

45.01 As of the round of 16, a club may register a maximum of three new eligible players for the remaining matches in the current competition. Such registration must be completed by 1 February at the latest. This deadline cannot be extended.

45.02 Any or all of the players from the above quota of three may have been fielded for another club in the qualifying phase, play-offs or group stage of the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League.   

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