The summer transfer window has now officially closed - but only briefly.
The significant changes to the Club World Cup has led to the temporary formation of two windows this summer, with two different deadlines and a short break in between.
The highlights so far included Real Madrid completing the signing of Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, while the Premier League champions replaced the Englishman with Jeremie Frimpong but have yet to sign Florian Wirtz.
Chelsea completed the signing of Liam Delap from Ipswich, to add to Mamadou Sarr, Estevao Willian and Dario Essugo’s arrivals at Stamford Bridge, though they were unable to complete late moves for Mike Maignan and Jamie Gittens as Arsenal continue talks over Benjamin Sesko and Manchester United continue to pursue Bryan Mbeumo after welcoming Matheus Cunha.
Arsenal are also yet to officially welcome Martin Zubimendi to north London, while the future of prolific Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres will continue to prove a major transfer storyline.
The Club World Cup begins on Sunday June 15, when Egyptian side Al-Ahly take on Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit Inter Miami at Hard Rock Stadium.
When does the transfer window reopen?
The summer transfer window, after a short break, will officially reopen for business on Monday June 16, with the Club World Cup just two days old.
Clubs in the Premier League, EFL and rest of Europe will be able to sign players again from then on, although Chelsea might be preoccupied with their first game of the tournament against Los Angeles FC in Atlanta that day.
When does the transfer window close?
The first mini-transfer window that opened on June 1 closed on Tuesday June 10, at 7pm BST.
The second, much longer instalment that gets underway on June 16 runs until September 1, again closing at the earlier time of 7pm, rather than 11pm.
Why are there two transfer windows?
FIFA rules stipulate that a single transfer window cannot span any longer than a 16-week consecutive period, hence this summer’s unique split.
The week-long closure allows teams to gather their current squads together with full focus on the Club World Cup for those involved.
Can teams in the Club World Cup sign players mid-tournament?
Yes, they can, but they will need to wait until a re-registration window opens before anyone signed during the tournament can take to the pitch.
Between Friday, June 27 and Thursday, July 3, clubs can register any new signings for the Club World Cup knockout stages.
Will Cristiano Ronaldo play at the Club World Cup?
FIFA adjusted their registration rules to allow clubs to sign players purely for the duration of the tournament.
That could have been the case for Cristiano Ronaldo, whose Al-Nassr contract expires at the end of June, with FIFA president Gianni Infantino revealing that discussions had taken place to try and secure the Portuguese superstar a move to a club that would be participating in the Club World Cup. Al-Nassr are not involved in the tournament this year.
Since then, however, Ronaldo has put any rumours of him playing in the inaugural event to bed, telling reporters after the Nations League final that he would be staying put in the Saudi Pro League.
