Fifa to introduce new loan rules to prevent clubs like Chelsea stockpiling young talent as agent reforms fall flat

Fifa have suggested that clubs can only send six players on loan

Tammy Abraham is one of 40 Chelsea players on loan (Aston Villa)

Clearing up the transfer system has been high of Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s to-do list for some time and an end to clubs sending an unlimited number of players out on loan could be coming soon.

Fifa have proposed that clubs can send a maximum of six players on loan to prevent sides stockpiling young talent.

Club, league and player representatives still need to agree to a limit before any regulations can be introduced.

The new rules aim to prevent teams like Chelsea, who have 40 players out on loan this season, attempting to make money from their young talent, Chelsea reject that they send players on loan to recover money and insist it’s because they want young players to “play and develop”. The Fifa Football Stakeholders Committee said the new limit will prevent “commercial exploitation.”

The reform package will be delivered to the Fifa Council on 26 October during its next meeting and it is hoped that the new regulations are phased in over the next two years.

“We have brought everyone to the table and all key actors of the industry have understood that we need to take action, leading today to this reform proposal,” said Infantino.

"This is a significant first step towards achieving greater transparency, the effective enforcement of rules that will deliver millions in solidarity payments to clubs, and developing a consensus on how to tackle the issue of agents, loans and other key aspects of the transfer system."

Fifa hoped to begin implementing further regulations on agent fees, but these have been dismissed for now. Infantino said the large amount of money flowing throughout football is a “concern” and is exploring how to make transfer systems more transparent.

Anybody can become a football agent and the Premier League clubs have paid them over £200m in the last year, almost a 25 per cent increase from the previous year.