Football Insider’s Merseyside correspondent David Lynch has highlighted a recent rule change which could help Liverpool in their reported interest in a South American talent.
According to TyC Sports (via Tribal Football), the Reds are closely monitoring the situation of Alan Varela at Boca Juniors and are set to consider submitting an offer for him in the near future.
As reported by The Athletic, the FA have eased the criteria for Premier League clubs to sign players from overseas, which in theory should make it more straightforward to acquire up-and-coming prospects from around the globe.
Lynch believes it could aid Liverpool when it comes to the Argentine midfielder, telling Football Insider colleague Fraser Fletcher: “I presume with someone like that, the new change in work permit rules would really play into the hands of a club like Liverpool in terms of actually being able to get that deal done now and not having to farm him out on loan.
“Maybe that’s a name who comes further up the list now because of that change.”
The change to the work permit rules enables Premier League clubs to instantly register signings from overseas, even if they don’t meet the criteria for a Governing Body Endorsement (The Athletic).
Prior to the rule change, English top-flight teams would frequently need to loan out players to enable them to obtain the necessary senior experience to qualify for a UK work permit.
One such previous example concerning Liverpool was Taiwo Awoniyi, who signed for the Reds in 2015 as an 18-year-old but wasn’t eligible to play in England (GOAL), so he underwent a series of loan moves over the next six years without ever playing a first-team match for his parent club (Transfermarkt).
If Jurgen Klopp’s side do sign Varela this summer, hopefully he won’t be subjected to the same process of being loaned out constantly to try and earn the necessary qualifications to line out for the Merseysiders.
In any case, he should be helped by his tally of 102 senior appearances for Boca Juniors (Transfermarkt), with GBE criteria taking into account how often a footballer has played at first-team level and the quality of the leagues in which they’ve featured.
It remains to be seen just how seriously Liverpool will pursue the 21-year-old Argentine, but as Lynch has pointed out, the recent change to work permit rules ought to make it a bit easier for the Reds to get a transfer done.
You can view Lynch’s comments on Varela below (from 4:05), via Football Insider on YouTube: