Mihir Bose in the Telegraph:
‘A major row is about to break out between the Premier League and UEFA over plans by UEFA to have more home-grown players in club sides. At next week's meeting at Nyon in Switzerland, the UEFA executive will approve a revolutionary plan which seeks to limit the free-for-all that has ensued since the Bosman ruling, with club sides now stuffed with overseas players.
‘The plan will then go to the UEFA Congress at Tallinn in April for final ratification. From the start of the 2007 season, it is proposed that any club qualifying for a European competition must have no more than 25 players in their first-team squad. Four of those players, however, must be home-grown, two of them having been trained between the ages of 15 and 21 by the club's own youth training programme, while two others could be developed by other clubs, provided these clubs are part of the same national association as the buying club. In other words, Chelsea would have to field two players from their own academy and two others nurtured by English clubs.
‘In the 2008 season, the number of home-grown players will increase to six - three and three - and in 2009 reach the maximum of eight - four and four. UEFA say this is a very reasonable proposal, as even at eight players, the rule would still cover less than a third of the squad. They also insist that the players need not be qualified to play for their national association. So the eight Chelsea "home-grown" players could be qualified to play for the Republic of Ireland or Italy. UEFA's legal advice is that by doing this they do not violate the Bosman ruling.
‘The proposal has met with fierce opposition from the Premier League, who at their last meeting voted 16-4 against the plan. The four clubs said to be in favour were Charlton, Aston Villa, Norwich and West Bromwich Albion.’