Thierry Henry on potential transfer deadline changes in Premier League

Thierry Henry said on The Debate that an early closure of the transfer window would give Premier League managers more "clarity" about their squad

Thierry Henry believes proposed changes to the transfer window that would bring the deadline forward would not solve the problem of players wanting to leave.

A string of top players including Philippe Coutinho, Diego Costa and Virgil van Dijk all missed the opening games of their clubs' seasons because
of transfer scrutiny, and Swansea boss Paul Clement criticised the current deadline - set for September 1 - after he left out Gylfi Sigurdsson, who is the subject of a potential move to Everton.

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Speaking on The Debate Show on Sky Sports Premier League, Henry says he does not agree with the potential changes because European clubs could still buy players from England because their transfer deadlines would be unaffected.

The Debate panel give their thoughts on the news of a proposal that would see the transfer window shut before the start of the season

"The problem is still the same. You can't buy but you can sell?" Henry questioned in a debate with fellow Sky Sports football expert Alan Smith.

"So Liverpool, as we all think, will lose Coutinho; he leaves you and you can't sign a replacement? They're trying to do the right thing but not in the right way. I don't personally agree with that one.
"I will give you the example of [Antoine] Griezmann. It's a bit different because Atletico find themselves in a bit of a dilemma (with a transfer embargo). He said 'I am not leaving, because that would be bad of me when they cannot buy'. That would be a gentlemanly way of doing that.

"But if you have Barcelona calling for you and you're Coutinho, do you think 'I'm not leaving because they want a replacement?' No, you're still going to want to go.
"I think managers want clarity. They want to know their group and make sure they are ready. But there is still talking; is he staying? Is he your guy? Does he want to go?"

Smith also agreed that the Premier League clubs are "trying to do the right thing" and hoped clubs would have extra leverage against want-away players because they could no longer be able to sign replacements.

Virgil van Dijk and Gylfi Sigurdsson have also been absent for their clubs amid transfer speculation

"It would make managers lives easier if they knew that was their group," Smith said. "An argument they could use is 'right we can't buy anyone so you're not leaving'. Whether the agent or the player would buy that is another matter.
"The Coutinho situation wouldn't go away, would it? It would be so hard, because the leagues don't start on the same day. You'd have to bring all the leagues together."