Weird Transfer Rule Quirk Means Tammy Abraham Might Not Move To Wolves

Tammy Abraham looked set to come back from loan at Aston Villa in order to make his move from Chelsea permanent and join Wolves but one FIFA quirk means that he might not be able to.

You'd be forgiven for forgetting that Tammy Abraham is a Chelsea player, heck you'd be forgiven for not actually realising he was one in the first place.

The striker is best known for his loan spells. He made his name at Bristol City in the Championship two seasons ago, his temporary move to Swansea last season didn't go as smoothly but a return to the Championship with Aston Villa has seen him back to his best.

The 21 year old has scored 16 in 20 appearances for Dean Smith's side in the league this season and five in his last five as Villa climb back up the table after a poor start to the season.

The problem for Smith and Villa is that his form has alerted Premier League clubs to the possibility of signing him and with a recall clause in the loan deal there's nothing stopping that being the case.

Wolves have reportedly made an £18 million bid, accepted by Chelsea, but there could be an issue. FIFA rules means a player can only play for two clubs in a season.

Abraham played for Chelsea in the Community Shield but that's weirdly not the issue and instead it's because he played for the Blues under 23s in the Premier League 2 earlier this season.

The Premier League side are trying to find out if that counts as a competitive fixture, and if it feels like it definitely wouldn't then there is previous.

Abraham has been bangining in the goals this season. Image: PA Images

Hatem ben Arfa had to wait till the end of the season four years ago to play for Nice, despite signing in the January of that season.

The Frenchman had been on loan to Hull from Newcastle but FIFA decided an appearance for Newcastle's under 21s counted as playing for them.

Ben Arfa's time at Hull didn't end well. Image: PA Images

FIFA define official matches as, "Matches played within the framework of organised football, such as national league championships, national cups and international championships for clubs, but not including friendly and trial matches," and Community Shield matches are seen as 'friendlies.'

Wolves and Abraham will be hoping that under 23 matches don't count, Aston Villa might well be hoping they do.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a writer for SPORTbible. He covers all sport from football, formula one, cricket, rugby, tennis, athletics, mma and wrestling. He obviously hates YOUR football team and has no interest in synchronised swimming.

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