Manchester City made their first move using an ESC to secure Nypan. The teenager did not qualify for a GBE as he only has seven points.
The avenue of clubs bringing in 16-year-olds, like Arsenal did with Cesc Fabregas in 2003, are over because of Fifa regulations stopping them from signing players under 18 directly.
Until Brexit, this rule was superseded by the EU’s freedom of movement, therefore the movement of 16 and 17-year-olds is still frequent within the EU and one of the main reasons more Irish players can now be found in European clubs.
However, there are other ways. Tottenham signed Vuskovic under ESC rules when he was 16 in 2023. The centre-back stayed with Hajduk Split before being loaned to Radomiak Radom in Poland and Belgium side Westerlo.
He played 36 times last season, scoring seven goals, as Westerlo finished seventh in Belgium’s top flight. Spurs’ work paid off with Vuskovic now classed as a GBE and he made his Croatia debut against Czech Republic last month.
Chelsea have also utilised the system to their advantage. Andrey Santos signed in January 2023 from Vasco de Gama, remaining with the Brazilian side on loan after initially missing out on a work permit.
He was issued one that summer and sent on loan to Nottingham Forest for 2023-24, but he managed just two appearances before instead joining Strasbourg, Chelsea’s French sister club, on an 18-month loan.
Kendry Paez, Mike Penders, Dario Essugo and Estevao Willian have also all moved to Stamford Bridge this summer on GBE deals, after initially staying with their parent clubs.
Newcastle have been active in the ESC market by signing 18-year-old winger Antonio Cordero from Malaga.
“The trend is to get young players and put them on a long contract and it gives you a lot of flexibility,” said Andy Watson, owner of website GBE Expert Hub, who guides clubs on the intricacies of the system.
“Then hopefully they establish themselves. Santos at Chelsea is a great example. They will probably keep him but could have sold him for tens of millions.
“It’s become a business in terms of player trading. You need to have careful planning. You can’t just sign anybody.
“With the ESC slots there has been more freedom, but there still needs to be a plan of how to get the players out of those slots. You can only use four.
“ESC is being used to sign players who are very young and a bit more of a risk and it wouldn’t surprise you if the ones who have used ESC more than others are Bournemouth, Aston VIlla, Wolves.
“About 75-80% of the ESC transfers [in 2024-25] have been for 18-year-olds.”