Manchester City have proposed a solution to help the Premier League deal with the mess they’ve created by shutting their transfer window before the rest of the world.

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In theory, it makes sense. Close the window before the football starts and let teams focus on the business of playing. Of course, when the rest of the world can still pick off your players while you can do nothing to replace them, it all becomes a bit ‘what’s the point?’

Earlier this month, it was reported that Premier League clubs would vote in favour of returning to a window in-line with the rest of football.

Manchester City, however, think they might have come up with a solution to the problem that will allow clubs in the Premier League to both focus more on football and stay in-line with Europe.

At a shareholders meeting on Thursday, Manchester City proposed that all domestic deals be concluded before the start of the Premier League but any foreign deals (both ins and outs) could continue until the windows closed around the world.

In other words, if the league starts on August 17, clubs would have until August 15 (the Thursday before the league kicks off) to buy from within the UK but until August 31 to buy from around the world.

“At least three clubs who originally called for the window to close early two seasons ago are now demanding a rethink,” writes Tom Morgan in Tuesday’s Daily Telegraph. “England’s top tier will discuss the issue at the next meeting of club executives a week on Thursday, but a vote on arrangements for next summer may be postponed until November.

“In 2017, 14 clubs were in favour of bringing forward deadline day to one day before the start of the season. Manchester City, Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Watford and Swansea then voted against it, while Burnley abstained.”

Ahead of this summer, 11 clubs were said to have been against the window closing early. Unable to get the rest of Europe to align with it, the Premier League looks set to align with their counterparts around the world instead.