Nypan to Man City and how clubs navigate post-Brexit market

On the face of it, Manchester City’s £12.5m deal to sign Norwegian teenage prodigy Sverre Nypan is the Premier League side looking to the future.

Clubs now have to navigate a more complicated transfer and work permit system to ensure players can settle in England, especially those who have yet to establish themselves at the highest level.

In what has been a record-selling deal for Rosenborg, Nypan, 18, has yet to earn all of his international honors for Norway.

Since Brexit, clubs have to consider regulations around Governing Body Endorsements (GBE) and, more recently, Elite Significant Contributions (ESC) – the criteria which has made it easier for English teams to sign players.

Both Chelsea and Manchester United have made excellent use of the system, including Chelsea’s deal for left-back Diego Leon this summer and Tottenham’s move for defender Luka Vuskovic two years ago.

Since January 2021, a non-British player must have a GBE endorsement before they can play professionally in the UK.

Autopass or qualification based on criteria developed by the Football Association are the two main ways to earn the GBE.

Some players gain an autopass through their international record, earned by the number of appearances for their national team over the past two years.

In the majority of cases, only competitive fixtures are taken into account, with friendlies only taking into account in extreme circumstances, such as a time-sensitive lack of competitive internationals.

They will be eligible for an autopass if they have played more than 30% of games for nations 1-10 in the world. If they represent a side ranked 31-50 – including Norway, Romania and Ivory Coast – they must have played over 70%.

Martin Zubimendi, a Spanish international who moved to Arsenal from Real Sociedad for a deal worth almost £60 million, has an autopass. However, with 17 points, Brighton signed Charalampos Kostoulas, who was signed from Olympiakos for more than £30m in June.

A minimum of 15 points is required, earned through a variety of criteria – league quality, domestic minutes played, league position, continental progress and minutes played in continental competitions, including the Champions League or the Copa Libertadores in South America.

Players are awarded 12 points in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, and Ligue 1 respectively.

The English Championship is included in Band Two (when signing non-British players who do not automatically qualify), Portugal’s Premier League, Belgium’s First Division A, and the Turkish Super Lig, while Band Three includes Major League Soccer in the United States. The Greek Super League is considered Band Four, while Band Five includes Poland’s Ekstraklasa.

The ESC rules allow a team in England]only England in the UK] to hold the registration of a player who does not qualify for a full GBE – one who cannot reach 15 points or get an autopass.

Premier League and Championship clubs can each hold up to four ESC spots, but they are not automatically able to do so.

The percentage of minutes that clubs give their English players is the main factor in how many slots there are.

The magic number is 35%. Below, the number of ESC slots available to Premier League and Championship clubs begins to decrease.

Although league one and two clubs are unlikely to have as many ESC spots as league one and two clubs do, it is still possible for those teams to have the same problems.

Once a slot is used on a signing, such as Nypan, it is gone until such time as the individual is sold or converted into a full GBE player.

If a player in an ESC slot meets the GBE requirements or makes a certain percentage of the team’s available minutes, the player can switch after 12 months. Then, they return the ESC slot.

It could happen if the player plays in 25% or more of matches which qualify for the club.

If a player is selected as an ESC, there are requirements for that player to meet.

Any of the eight FA regulations that a player may use may be violated. These include: playing in at least one competitive youth or senior international match for a top-50 ranked nation, or five times if the country is outside the top 50.

Players must be in a Band 1-5 league in addition to playing in at least five domestic youth or senior competition games.

To secure Nypan, Manchester City used an ESC to make their first move. Because of his only seven points, the teenager was not considered for the GBE.

The avenue of clubs bringing in 16-year-olds, like Arsenal did with Cesc Fabregas in 2003, are over because of Fifa regulations stopping them from signing players under 18 directly.

The EU’s freedom of movement was replaced by this rule prior to Brexit, making it still common for 16 and 17-year-olds to travel within the EU. This is one of the main factors that has led to the rise in Irish players playing in European clubs.

There are still other options, though. Tottenham signed Vuskovic under ESC rules when he was 16 in 2023. Before being loaned to Radomiak Radom in Poland and Belgium side Westerlo, the center-back spent the majority of his time with Hajduk Split.

He scored seven goals in 36 games for Westerlo last season to finish seventh in Belgium’s top flight. Spurs ‘ work paid off with Vuskovic now classed as a GBE and he made his Croatia debut against Czech Republic last month.

Chelsea has also made the most of the system. After initially avoiding a work permit, Andréy Santos left Vasco de Gama and joined the Brazilian side on loan.

He was issued one that summer and sent on loan to Nottingham Forest for 2023-24, but he managed just two appearances before instead joining Strasbourg, Chelsea’s French sister club, on an 18-month loan.

After initially remaining with their parent clubs, Kendry Paez, Mike Penders, Dario Essugo, and Estevao Willian all agreed to move to Stamford Bridge this summer on GBE deals.

Antonio Cordero, 18, a teen winger from Malaga, has been a key player for Newcastle in the ESC market.

“The trend is to get young players and put them on a long contract and it gives you a lot of flexibility”, said Andy Watson, owner of website GBE Expert Hub, who guides clubs on the intricacies of the system.

“Then, I’m hoping, they’ll establish themselves. A fantastic illustration of this is Santana at Chelsea. They will probably keep him but could have sold him for tens of millions.

In terms of player trading, it has evolved into a business. You must make informed decisions. You can’t just sign anybody.

There has been more freedom with the ESC slots, but a strategy must be put in place to remove players from those slots. Four is the limit.

” ESC is being used to sign players who are very young and a bit more of a risk and it wouldn’t surprise you if the ones who have used ESC more than others are Bournemouth, Aston VIlla, Wolves.

There has been a rapid rise in international recruitment in the Championship, owing much to the introduction of the ESC.

There were 59 ESC transfers last season, up from 23 during the 23-to-24 season, according to GBE Expert Hub, and 107 deals related to GBE, up from 19 when the regulations were first put into effect.

After initially joining on loan from Zenit St Petersburg, Wilson Isidor helped the Black Cats reclaim the Premier League after eight years.

His ESC move became a GBE one once the Black Cats made the deal permanent in February.

After joining from Sweden’s IF Brommapojkarna, Derby goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom, who had signed for Djurgaarden in Sweden, Torbjorn Heggem only played one league game for West Brom, while Derby goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom also played 41 games.

“I don’t think people anticipated a huge rise in overseas recruitment in the last 12 months; many believed Brexit would stifle foreign trade, which it hasn’t,” Watson said.

“It tells you recruitment teams are using the data more in the non-domestic market.

In comparison to the past, there haven’t been as many bad decisions being made at the Championship level and there haven’t been as many clubs facing problems. It includes ESC and Brexit.

“The regulations of GBE almost ringfence the pool of players you can go for, so you are not taking as many risks or making as many bad decisions. That is one of the benefits of the regulations.

The ESC opens up more options because League One and League Two clubs are unlikely to have qualified players with the 15 points required for a GBE.

Reading profited from the rule by signing New Zealand centre-back Tyler Bindon from LAFC academy in 2023, before selling him to Nottingham Forest in February. This season, he will be playing on loan at Sheffield United.

After Alassana Jatta scored enough minutes to earn a GBE and give up an additional spot, Notts Country signed American goalkeeper Tyler Miller for an ESC in April. Miller was released at the end of the season.