New rule and Premier League change will impact Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Wolves & West Brom

The Premier League is expected to shake up its youth programme in a move that will ultimately have a knock-on effect to how West Midlands clubs shape their squads, our colleagues at StokeonTrentLive report.

It is anticipated that Premier League 2 will become an under-21s league rather than its current guise as an under-23s competition, it is unlikely the league will be regionalised, though, which has been discussed as a potential option. The proposal is set to be voted through in time for next season.

Five overage players will be allowed to feature for each club and, combined with a new rule limiting the number of players clubs are allowed to loan out, that will come into managers’ thinking when they name their retained lists and head into the transfer market. Aston Villa, Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers all participate in Premier League 2 Division 2.

FIFA has introduced the loan cap, but this won’t apply to players aged 21 and under who have spent at least three years after the age of 15 registered at a club in the same national association; classed by the Premier League as ‘homegrown’ players.

A maximum of eight players will be able to be loaned out and eight loaned in by each club during the 2022/23 season – though Championship clubs are only permitted five loanees in match day squads anyway. This will gradually be reduced to seven in 2023/24 and six by 2024/25.

FIFA say that the changes are being implemented to “develop young players, promote competitive balance and prevent hoarding”. The age limit for Premier League 2 comes as research showed that the average age of players involved was under 20 – and a fear that development stagnates if clubs hold onto players in their