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After the joy of welcoming multiple new signings during the January transfer window, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa now face a headache when it comes to their winter signings.
That is because, under UEFA rules, clubs playing in Europe can only register a maximum three new players into their knockout stage squad from their league phase roster.
And they don't have long to decide which ones, with the deadline to register those players coming up on Thursday February 6 at midnight.
Who plays who in the Champions League play-off rounds?
Champions League format verdict: Was it a success?
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That is a problem for those three teams, especially Pep Guardiola's City - who were the Premier League's biggest spenders with four new permanent additions, to the tune of £176.1m.
Villa are also affected by this, with five new arrivals in January - including three loan signings. One of them was Marcus Rashford, arguably the most high-profile move in the transfer window.
The UEFA rules also impact Spurs, who made three January signings - but their situation is further damaged by an injury crisis and a lack of homegrown players in their squad.
Take a look at the dilemma that those three teams have regarding their squad registration for the European knockout rounds…
What are the rules?
Right, let's get the boring rules out the way. Back in September, clubs competing in Europe filed a registration list for the league phases of their respective competitions. The registration is made up of two lists. List A and List B.
List B doesn't really affect Man City, Spurs or Villa here but if you're interested, it is mainly made up of youth players.
Players in this list were aged 21 or under at the start of the season and have been registered to the club for three straight, uninterrupted years from the age of 15. And there are no limitations on how many of these players you can have, or when you can register them,.
But when it comes to List A - that's where the main players are. No club can have more than 25 players on List A during the season - and at least two must be goalkeepers. On top of that, eight of those 25 players must be 'locally trained'.
What does that mean? At least four players must have been on the books of the club for three years between the ages of 15 and 21. The rest can be made up of home-grown players fitting into the same category, but they may have played for another club from the same league.
If you fail to meet that quota, your squad size is trimmed. For example, if you're two 'locally trained' players short, then you can only have 23 players in your List A squad, instead of 25.
We know, this is getting very complicated. But stay with us as that 'locally trained' bit is important, especially when it comes to Spurs.
The main crux is, clubs are only allowed to register a maximum of three new eligible players after the completion of the league phase and before the start of the knockout phase. There are some exceptions where more new players are allowed to be registered. The first is for teams whose domestic season start and end in the same calendar year.
The other is if a club sells a large amount of players before the knockout phase. UEFA only allows four new players to be registered if more than five players in the squad for the group stage have left, and five additions if more than seven have left.
Still with us? Let's see what this all means.
How does this affect Man City, Spurs and Villa?
Let's start with Manchester City. They signed five new first-team players to register in January and you don't need A-Level maths to know five does not go into three.
Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Omar Marmoush were all signed in the last month, while City also have Claudio Echeverri - signed from River Plate last year - joining up later this month. All of them would need to go into List A.
But not enough City players from List A left the club to account for all five being registered. So Guardiola has some thinking to do. Which two does he leave out for Champions League games only?
Now Aston Villa's situation is different. They signed five players in January but crucially also let six players from their List A leave the club at the same time - Jhon Duran, Emiliano Buendia, Kostas Nedeljkovic, Jaden Philogene and Diego Carlos and Joe Gauci.
That means, under the rules above, they can register four players out of Rashford, Donyell Malen, Andres Garcia, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi. One, however, will have to miss out.
Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, is more complicated. They failed to meet the homegrown quota at the start of the season, because they only named two 'locally trained' players in Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman. They needed at least four.
As a result, because they were two players short, they named a squad of just 23 players for the Europa League league phase. That meant Djed Spence and Sergio Reguilon were not named in their league phase squad.
Like Man City, Spurs can only register three new players into their knockout stage squad and they could pick their three January signings in Kevin Danso, Antonin Kinsky and Mathys Tel. But they would need to replace current players in the Spurs squad, as their current 23-player roster is full.
Radu Dragusin is likely to be unregistered given his long-term injury, Fraser Forster's place is under threat from Kinsky as Austin and Whiteman must stay in for home-grown reasons. Beyond that, a third recognised first-team player may have to make way for signing No 3.
But with so many injuries at the back, should they also pick someone like Spence, who has impressed as a back-up in recent weeks? If so, either another first-team Spurs player misses our or one or more of their January signings will miss out on playing Europa League football in the latter rounds.
Does this affect their Premier League registration?
Not really. There is no limit to how many players you can register or unregister before the post-January window deadline, providing you stick to the rules.
A maximum of 25 players can be named in the Premier League squad list, and eight of those players must be home grown, under the same home grown rules as UEFA.
On top of that, Under-21 players do not have to be in that 25-player squad, they are automatically registered on another list - kind of like List B with UEFA.
Clubs must submit their squad list after the January transfer window closes, normally in the week after the market shuts.
But that's enough regulations for one day, don't you think?
After the joy of welcoming multiple new signings during the January transfer window, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa now face a headache when it comes to their winter signings.
That is because, under UEFA rules, clubs playing in Europe can only register a maximum three new players into their knockout stage squad from their league phase roster - though there are some exceptions.
And they don't have long to decide which ones, with the deadline to register those players coming up on Thursday February 6 at midnight.
Who plays who in the Champions League play-off rounds?
Champions League format verdict: Was it a success?
Download the Sky Sports app
That is a problem for those three teams, especially Pep Guardiola's City - who were the Premier League's biggest spenders with four new permanent additions, to the tune of £176.1m.
Villa are also affected by this, with five new arrivals in January - including three loan signings. One of them was Marcus Rashford, arguably the most high-profile move in the transfer window.
The UEFA rules also impact Spurs, who made three January signings - but their situation is further damaged by an injury crisis and a lack of homegrown players in their squad.
Take a look at the dilemma that those three teams have regarding their squad registration for the European knockout rounds…
What are the rules?
Right, let's get the boring rules out the way. Back in September, clubs competing in Europe filed a registration list for the league phases of their respective competitions. The registration is made up of two lists. List A and List B.
List B doesn't really affect Man City, Spurs or Villa here but if you're interested, it is mainly made up of youth players.
Players in this list were aged 21 or under at the start of the season and have been registered to the club for three straight, uninterrupted years from the age of 15. And there are no limitations on how many of these players you can have, or when you can register them,.
But when it comes to List A - that's where the main players are. No club can have more than 25 players on List A during the season - and at least two must be goalkeepers. On top of that, eight of those 25 players must be 'locally trained'.
What does that mean? At least four players must have been on the books of the club for three years between the ages of 15 and 21. The rest can be made up of home-grown players fitting into the same category, but they may have played for another club from the same league.
If you fail to meet that quota, your squad size is trimmed. For example, if you're two 'locally trained' players short, then you can only have 23 players in your List A squad, instead of 25.
We know, this is getting very complicated. But stay with us as that 'locally trained' bit is important, especially when it comes to Spurs.
The main crux is, clubs are only allowed to register a maximum of three new eligible players after the completion of the league phase and before the start of the knockout phase. There are some exceptions where more new players are allowed to be registered.
The first is for teams whose domestic season start and end in the same calendar year. Dinamo Zagreb, for example, as the Croatian league starts in August and ends in December.
The other is if a club sells a large amount of players before the knockout phase. UEFA only allows four new players to be registered if more than five players in the squad for the group stage have left, and five additions if more than seven have left.
Still with us? Let's see what this all means.
How does this affect Man City, Spurs and Villa?
Let's start with Manchester City. They signed five new first-team players to register in January and you don't need A-Level maths to know five does not go into three.
Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Omar Marmoush were all signed in the last month, while City also have Claudio Echeverri - signed from River Plate last year - joining up later this month. All of them would need to go into List A.
But not enough City players from List A left the club to account for all five being registered. So Guardiola has some thinking to do. Which two does he leave out for Champions League games only?
Now Aston Villa's situation is different. They signed five players in January but crucially also let five players from their List A leave the club at the same time - Jhon Duran, Emiliano Buendia, Kostas Nedeljkovic, Jaden Philogene and Diego Carlos.
That means, under the rules above, they can register four players out of Rashford, Donyell Malen, Andres Garcia, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi. One, however, will have to miss out.
Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, is more complicated. They failed to meet the homegrown quota at the start of the season, because they only named two 'locally trained' players in Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman. They needed at least four.
As a result, because they were two players short, they named a squad of just 23 players for the Europa League league phase. That meant Djed Spence and Sergio Reguilon were not named in their league phase squad.
Like Man City, Spurs can only register three new players into their knockout stage squad and they could pick their three January signings in Kevin Danso, Antonin Kinsky and Mathys Tel. But they would need to replace current players in the Spurs squad, as their current 23-player roster is full.
Radu Dragusin is likely to be unregistered given his long-term injury, Fraser Forster's place is under threat from Kinsky as Austin and Whiteman must stay in for home-grown reasons. Beyond that, a third recognised first-team player may have to make way for signing No 3.
But with so many injuries at the back, should they also pick someone like Spence, who has impressed as a back-up in recent weeks? If so, either another first-team Spurs player misses our or one or more of their January signings will miss out on playing Europa League football in the latter rounds.
Does this affect their Premier League registration?
Not really. There is no limit to how many players you can register or unregister before the post-January window deadline, providing you stick to the rules.
A maximum of 25 players can be named in the Premier League squad list, and eight of those players must be home grown, under the same home grown rules as UEFA.
On top of that, Under-21 players do not have to be in that 25-player squad, they are automatically registered on another list - kind of like List B with UEFA.
Clubs must submit their squad list after the January transfer window closes, normally in the week after the market shuts.
But that's enough regulations for one day, don't you think?
Tottenham have confirmed defender Radu Dargusin will undergo surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury - adding to Spurs' defensive injury woes.
The Romanian defender picked up the blow during Spurs' Europa League victory over Elfsborg last week and raises serious concerns over whether the centre-back will feature again this season.
Dragusin's lengthy spell on the sidelines adds to the absence of Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie in the defensive areas for Spurs, who only welcomed back Micky van de Ven from injury last week.
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Spurs did alleviate their defensive injury woes with the £21m signing of Lens defender Kevin Danso from Lens, havig seen a late £70m bid for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi rejected.
But it leaves the Austrian, the returning Van de Ven and utiity player Archie Gray as their only recognised centre-back options.
And Spurs are entering an important part of their season with a Carabao Cup semi-final second leg with Liverpool on Thursday night, plus an FA Cup fourth round tie away at Aston Vila on Sunday.
Ange Postecoglou's side, who sit 14th in the Premier League table, also have league games against Man City, Bournemouth and Chelsea within the next two months.
Tottenham's next 10 games
February 6: Liverpool (a), Carabao Cup semi-final second leg - live on Sky Sports
February 9: Aston Villa (a), FA Cup fourth round
February 16: Man Utd (h) - live on Sky Sports
February 22: Ipswich (a)
February 26: Man City (h)
March 9: Bournemouth (h) - live on Sky Sports
March 16: Fulham (a)
April 2: Chelsea (a)
April 5: Southampton (h)
April 12: Wolves (a)
Tottenham's transfer window analysed
Sky Sports News' Michael Bridge:
"Mathys Tel was arguably the most high-profile signing on Deadline Day.
"Tel told Spurs on Friday he wanted to stay at Bayern Munich but after a weekend of thinking and a long conversation with Ange Postecoglou, the deal was back on as we revealed at midday on Monday afternoon.
"Spurs also successfully negotiated a £45m option to buy in the deal.
"Kevin Danso arrived from Lens on Saturday night, while goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky has enjoyed an impressive start after his transfer from Slavia Prague.
"Spurs had been working to bring in another defender after Danso, due to a serious knee injury to Radu Dragusin.
"They had a significant bid rejected for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi over the weekend, with reports suggesting it was worth up to £70m.
"Supporters will hope Danso and Tel hit the ground running with a crucial week ahead in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup."
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Tottenham have signed Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich on loan with a £45m option to buy after the forward dramatically performed a U-turn on Deadline Day, having rejected the move three days earlier.
If the £45m (€55m) option is activated at the end of the season, the 19-year-old will sign a six-year deal at Spurs.
But while his loan arrival is a welcome addition for Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou, the club's injury crisis deepened with defender Radu Dragusin to miss the rest of the season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament knee injury.
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Tottenham failed to add further defensive cover on Deadline Day, with target Axel Disasi joining Aston Villa on loan from Chelsea.
Spurs also had a bid rejected by Crystal Palace for defender Marc Guehi over the weekend, with reports suggesting the offer was £70m.
Tel was Tottenham's only addition on Deadline Day ahead of Thursday's crunch Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Liverpool, live on Sky Sports, with Spurs holding a 1-0 lead in the tie.
Tottenham made three signings in the winter transfer window following the arrivals of Tel, defender Kevin Danso from Lens on loan and goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky from Slavia Prague in a £12.5m deal.
Postecoglou will hope the late additions of Danso and Tel can boost their hopes of salvaging their campaign, with the prospect of trophy success still possible due to participation in the Carabao Cup, Europa League and FA Cup.
The north London club are struggling in the bottom half of the Premier League as they sit 14th, with Sunday's much-needed 2-0 win at Brentford ending their four-game losing league run.
Why Tel U-turned as Man Utd ended interest
Tel, who was also attracting interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, initially turned down the opportunity to move to Spurs on Friday after a £50m deal was agreed with the Bundesliga leaders.
But in a huge U-turn, the teenager changed his mind after a long conversation with Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou on how he would be used.
Tel's agent then posted an image on Instagram of the teenager aboard a private plane which landed at Farnborough Airport before his move was confirmed 10 minutes after Monday's 11pm deadline.
Tel had been a Man Utd target but their interest ended because Bayern wanted a £5m loan fee with no buy clause in the deal.
It was seen as an expensive risk and developing the player only for Bayern or another club to benefit at the end of the temporary spell.
Tel has made 83 appearances for Bayern since joining from French club Rennes in July 2022, scoring 16 goals across all competitions.
Neville: Tel will improve Spurs
Sky Sports' Gary Neville speaking to Sky Sports News:
"Tottenham are a huge draw, the stadium and the training ground - and the manager with his style of football. It's a thrilling style that creates chances.
"I'm glad Tel is going there after flirting with a couple of other clubs. Tel will improve Spurs.
"They have a big couple of weeks coming up. Sometimes players like the idea of playing for a club but the important thing is to play football. That's what Tottenham can provide him.
"They are an amazing football club with an amazing fanbase and they have some great games coming up that he can contribute in."
'Tel is a striker, not a winger!'
Sky in Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg speaking to Sky Sports News:
"This is a very good solution for Tel, Tottenham and Bayern.
"He has reconsidered his decision. He was in talks with Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham but I'm convinced that in the end Spurs have presented the best project in order to get match practice. This is the most important for Tel.
"Now it's up to Postecoglou to place him in the right position. He's not a winger, he's a striker. Let him strike, let him score goals!"
Spurs' INCREDIBLE 72 hours in the January transfer window
This is how Sky Sports News brought you a bizarre 72-hour period for Tottenham in the final days of the window...
January 31 - 9.50am: Spurs and Bayern Munich agree a £50m fee for forward Mathys Tel
January 31 - 5pm: Spurs begin talks with AC Milan over a deal for Fikayo Tomori
January 31 - 5.30pm: Tel rejects the chance to join Tottenham
January 31 - 7.50pm: Spurs' talks with Tomori reach an advanced stage
February 1 - 10.15am: Tomori decides to stay at AC Milan
February 1 - 10.20pm: Tottenham hijack Wolves' deal to sign Lens centre-back Kevin Danso.
February 2 - 9.30am: Spurs announce the loan signing of Danso
February 2 - 4.30pm: Spurs open talks with Chelsea over deal for Axel Disasi
February 3 - 9.30am: Spurs end their interest in Disasi
February 3 - 10.30am: News emerges of £70m bid for Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi being rejected over the weekend, with Spurs still looking to sign a centre-back before the 11pm deadline
February 3 - 2.15pm: Tel dramatically U-turns on his decision and flies to London to join Spurs from Bayern.
Tottenham have signed Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich on loan with a £45m option to buy after the forward dramatically performed a U-turn on Deadline Day, having rejected the move three days earlier.
If the £45m (€55m) option is activated at the end of the season, the 19-year-old will sign a six-year deal at Spurs.
But while his loan arrival is a welcome addition for Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou, the club's injury crisis deepened with defender Radu Dragusin to miss the rest of the season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament knee injury.
Transfer Centre LIVE! | Tottenham news & transfers⚪
Spurs fixtures & scores | FREE highlights▶️
Got Sky? Watch Tottenham games LIVE on your phone📱
Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺
Tottenham failed to add further defensive cover on Deadline Day, with target Axel Disasi set to join Aston Villa on loan from Chelsea.
Spurs also had a bid rejected by Crystal Palace for defender Marc Guehi over the weekend, with reports suggesting the offer was £70m.
Tel was Tottenham's only addition on Deadline Day ahead of Thursday's crunch Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Liverpool, live on Sky Sports, with Spurs holding a 1-0 lead in the tie.
Tottenham made three signings in the winter transfer window following the arrivals of Tel, defender Kevin Danso from Lens on loan and goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky from Slavia Prague in a £12.5m deal.
Postecoglou will hope the late additions of Danso and Tel can boost their hopes of salvaging their campaign, with the prospect of trophy success still possible due to participation in the Carabao Cup, Europa League and FA Cup.
The north London club are struggling in the bottom half of the Premier League as they sit 14th, with Sunday's much-needed 2-0 win at Brentford ending their four-game losing league run.
Why Tel U-turned as Man Utd ended interest
Tel, who was also attracting interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, initially turned down the opportunity to move to Spurs on Friday after a £50m deal was agreed with the Bundesliga leaders.
But in a huge U-turn, the teenager changed his mind after a long conversation with Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou on how he would be used.
Tel's agent then posted an image on Instagram of the teenager aboard a private plane which landed at Farnborough Airport before his move was confirmed 10 minutes after Monday's 11pm deadline.
Tel had been a Man Utd target but their interest ended because Bayern wanted a £5m loan fee with no buy clause in the deal.
It was seen as an expensive risk and developing the player only for Bayern or another club to benefit at the end of the temporary spell.
Tel has made 83 appearances for Bayern since joining from French club Rennes in July 2022, scoring 16 goals across all competitions.
Neville: Tel will improve Spurs
Sky Sports' Gary Neville speaking to Sky Sports News:
"Tottenham are a huge draw, the stadium and the training ground - and the manager with his style of football. It's a thrilling style that creates chances.
"I'm glad Tel is going there after flirting with a couple of other clubs. Tel will improve Spurs.
"They have a big couple of weeks coming up. Sometimes players like the idea of playing for a club but the important thing is to play football. That's what Tottenham can provide him.
"They are an amazing football club with an amazing fanbase and they have some great games coming up that he can contribute in."
'Tel is a striker, not a winger!'
Sky in Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg speaking to Sky Sports News:
"This is a very good solution for Tel, Tottenham and Bayern.
"He has reconsidered his decision. He was in talks with Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham but I'm convinced that in the end Spurs have presented the best project in order to get match practice. This is the most important for Tel.
"Now it's up to Postecoglou to place him in the right position. He's not a winger, he's a striker. Let him strike, let him score goals!"
Spurs' INCREDIBLE 72 hours in the January transfer window
This is how Sky Sports News brought you a bizarre 72-hour period for Tottenham in the final days of the window...
January 31 - 9.50am: Spurs and Bayern Munich agree a £50m fee for forward Mathys Tel
January 31 - 5pm: Spurs begin talks with AC Milan over a deal for Fikayo Tomori
January 31 - 5.30pm: Tel rejects the chance to join Tottenham
January 31 - 7.50pm: Spurs' talks with Tomori reach an advanced stage
February 1 - 10.15am: Tomori decides to stay at AC Milan
February 1 - 10.20pm: Tottenham hijack Wolves' deal to sign Lens centre-back Kevin Danso.
February 2 - 9.30am: Spurs announce the loan signing of Danso
February 2 - 4.30pm: Spurs open talks with Chelsea over deal for Axel Disasi
February 3 - 9.30am: Spurs end their interest in Disasi
February 3 - 10.30am: News emerges of £70m bid for Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi being rejected over the weekend, with Spurs still looking to sign a centre-back before the 11pm deadline
February 3 - 2.15pm: Tel dramatically U-turns on his decision and flies to London to join Spurs from Bayern.