FA cracking down on work permits

The FA will push English clubs to unearth their own Harry Kane next season by making it harder for foreign players to secure work permits this summer.

Stricter rules, approved by the home office on Friday, will come into force from May 1 and intend to reduce the number of non-EU players in the Premier League, who are seen as blocking English talent.

FA chairman Greg Dyke also wants to persuade the Premier League to drop the number of non-home grown players allowed in a 25-man squad from 17 to 13 and to adjust the definition of ‘home grown’ so that players only qualify if they are registered for three years prior to turning 18, rather than 21.

The Premier League are understood to have serious reservations about both changes to the home grown players rule, including whether there would be legal implications. The proposals come from the FA’s Commission, launched in 2013 to help English youngsters succeed at the highest level and achieve Dyke’s ambitious target of winning the 2022 World Cup.

A clock counting down to the final in Qatar has since been installed at St George’s Park but the chance of England progressing that far remains small with Englishmen like Tottenham’s Kane, currently joint top-scorer in the League, forming only 35% of those playing in the top flight.