How Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham can welcome new signings after transfer deadline

With less than eight hours to go (at the time of writing) before the transfer window slams shut, London remains one city where the transfer activity certainly hasn’t slowed down. Chelsea have become the highest spending team in one winter window ever as they have welcomed the likes of Mykhaylo Mudryk and Noni Madueke, however it appears they still have plenty more business to do.

Meanwhile, Arsenal look set to lure Jorginho away from Stamford Bridge shortly after making a third bid for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo. Tottenham Hotspur are also closing in on a deadline day deal for Pedro Porro after the Sporting Lisbon star looked set to miss out on a switch.

With any potential transfers looking very tight ahead of the deadline, we take a look at how the London clubs can complete their deals after 11pm...

When does the January transfer window close?

The January transfer window will close today, Tuesday 31 January 2023, and the Premier League and EFL deadline is 11pm GMT. The Scottish Premiership deadline time is 11.59pm GMT while the timings vary even more across the channel in Europe.

The Bundesliga has a deadline time of 5pm GMT, Serie A has until 7pm, La Liga will close at 11pm and Ligue 1 will close at 11.59pm this evening.

What is a deal sheet? 

A deal sheet is what is used for a side to confirm an agreement has taken place in order to allow for additional time to submit the remaining documentation.

During the 2022 summer deadline - which also had a final time of 11pm - the deal sheet could not be used before 9pm and had to arrive fully completed before the 11pm deadline.

Once the sheet has arrived, the club then have an additional two hours (until 1am) to complete all the final and necessary paperwork.

Can clubs sign players after the deadline? 

The deal sheet is the only way clubs are able to sign players after the 11pm deadline in the Premier League and EFL. If an agreement has not been reached by this time or the deal sheet not fully completed and submitted, then the club and players must wait until the summer transfer window to strike any new deals. Players who are out of contract can be signed outside of the transfer window.