When a transfer is listed as undisclosed, it is essentially a club's way of shielding its financial hand from rivals. By keeping the fee private, neither the buying club's remaining budget nor the selling club's available reinvestment funds become public knowledge.

In practice, however, secrecy has its limits. Agent networks and media sources mean most fees eventually surface. More pointedly, when one of the clubs involved is listed on a stock exchange — as is the case with Lyon and Juventus — the publicly traded club is legally required to report the exact fee and any performance-related variables to the market. The English club may still label the deal undisclosed, yet the true figure is already visible to anyone who looks.

What makes a player homegrown?

In the Premier League, a homegrown player is defined not by nationality or birthplace, but by time served in the English and Welsh football system. Any player — regardless of where they were born — who was registered with an English or Welsh club for at least three full seasons, or 36 months, before turning 21 qualifies as homegrown.

Chelsea's Brazilian striker Joao Pedro illustrates this well. Born in Sao Paulo, Pedro joined Watford in January 2020 at the age of 18 and accumulated the required time in England before his 21st birthday, making him eligible as a homegrown player despite his South American roots.

It is worth noting that UEFA operates a different framework for its club competitions. Under UEFA's regulations, only time spent between the ages of 15 and 21 counts toward homegrown qualification — a stricter window than the Premier League applies.

Can an English player be classified as non-homegrown?

Yes — and Eric Dier is a well-cited example. Though born in England and a full international for the England national team, Dier spent a significant portion of his youth career in Portugal. Because he did not accumulate three years in the English club system before his 21st birthday, he was listed as a non-homegrown player throughout his Premier League career.

The rule can also work in reverse. Noni Madueke moved to PSV Eindhoven at 16 and remained there until he was 20, yet he is classified as homegrown. That is because Madueke had spent roughly seven years in the academies of Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur before his move to the Netherlands, giving him more than enough time to meet the threshold.

Similarly, Jeremie Frimpong — born in Amsterdam and an international for the Netherlands — is eligible as a homegrown player at Liverpool because he spent nine years in Manchester City's academy between 2010 and 2019.

How do sell-on clauses work in practice?

A sell-on clause entitles a club to a share of the profit when a player they sold is subsequently transferred on. To use a straightforward example: if Team A sells a player to Team B for £5 million, and Team B later sells that player to Team C for £20 million, the profit is £15 million. A 10 percent sell-on clause would therefore earn Team A £1.5 million.

The timing of those payments typically mirrors the structure of the main transfer deal. If Team C pays Team B in four instalments, Team B will in turn pay Team A across the same four instalments — and only once Team B has received each payment itself.

That said, the original sale contract can specify different terms. Team A may negotiate for the sell-on fee to be paid in a single lump sum, though accepting a slightly reduced figure is often part of that arrangement.

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