Man Utd will keep Ighalo until season’s completed after Fifa ruling on loan deals amid talks of THIRD transfer window

PREM players will be blocked from switching clubs before the delayed end of the season – even if they are out of contract.

But Fifa is considering introducing a one-off third transfer window next term – because the summer trading spell will be so short.

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Fifa chief Emilio Garcia Silvero has spoken about what the coronavirus crisis means to potential free agents and loan players

Fifa’s legal director, Spaniard Emilio Garcia Silvero, has admitted world chiefs cannot demand contracts that run out on June 30 be extended.

Players including Chelsea schemer Willian and Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen will nominally be free agents from July 1, which would allow them to switch clubs for nothing.

But Garcia Silvero revealed that Fifa will simply refuse to ratify any attempts to register with another club until the 2019-20 season has been either completed or officially closed.

That will avoid the possibility of players simply changing clubs for the conclusion of the campaign.

He said: “Fifa cannot extend the contracts beyond June 30, but the transfer windows will not be the same and the players will not be able to be registered.

“It means that, contrary to the normal situation, the market will not open this year on July 1.”

And in an attempt to ensure the last quarter of this season is not warped, the same no-play rules will apply to on-loan players.

This would mean that Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo will remain at Manchester United, despite fears that he would return to Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua next month.

Odion Ighalo has made a huge impression at Manchester United since joining on loan in January

Garcia Silvero added: “If a loan ends on June 30, the player, theoretically, should return to his club.

“But the registration window would not be open and the return transfer would not be processed.”

Fifa, though, is ready to recognise the likelihood of a shortened pre-season window means a further transfer opportunity should be made available for clubs and players.

Current transfer rules state that there should be 16 weeks per year when transfers are possible.

The summer window normally runs from July 1 to the start of September, with the other four weeks in January.

Next term, though, a third window is set to be introduced, possibly in October or November, to allow extra recruitment, although there will be issues caused by domestic league calendars being out of sync.

Garcia Silvero explained: “There may be several windows.

“It will depend on the start and end of each competition. The idea is that the windows end just before the start of each championship and they do not have to coincide.”

Fifa regulatory director James Kitching confirmed a third window period for next term only “could be a possibility”.

He added: “This would be dealt with flexibly as long as the total 16-week transfer period is not extended.”

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk