What is the loan system? When can players be loaned? Does the Premier League have different loan rules to the Football League?
Everything you've ever wanted to know about the loan system
THE January transfer window has come to an end and teams up and down the country have taken advantage of the opportunity to bolster their squads.
As well as making permanent signings, clubs in the Premier League and EFL have been signing a number of players on loan.
But how does the loan system actually work? Here's everything you need to know.
What is the loan system?
The loan system allows players owned by one club to be sent to another on a temporary basis.
It is popular with Premier League clubs as it allows them to sign large numbers of young players, who are then able to get competitive match experience either abroad or in the lower leagues.
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Clubs in the EFL also tend to be very supportive of the system because it allows those short of cash to bring in quality players without paying a transfer fee.
When can players be loaned and recalled?
All loans in the Premier League and EFL take place within the two designated transfer windows, from the beginning of July to the end of August and throughout January.
Players on a season-long loan can be recalled by parent clubs in the January transfer window but only if the two clubs have agreed a recall clause in advance.
A loan deal can be cancelled at any time in the season if both clubs concerned agree.
Does the Premier League have different loan rules to the EFL?
Not really. In previous years the EFL had "emergency loan windows" where players could be loaned out for up to three months outside of transfer windows.
But these windows were scrapped by the EFL in 2016 under pressure from Fifa.
Now all loan signings in the Premier League and EFL must be made during transfer windows.
The only slight difference in regulation is that Football League clubs can only name five loan players on their teamsheets whereas the Premier League has no restriction.
Can a player be loaned out from a club where he is already on loan?
Incredibly yes! Yesterday Leicester signed Mali international Molla Wague on loan from Udinese, where he is already on loan from Granada.
This was possible because any loan spell lasting a season or more is registered as a permanent transfer by Fifa, and Wague was sent on a three-year loan to Italy by the Spanish club in 2014.
Both Granada and Udinese had to agree for the defender to make the move to the King Power Stadium.
Udinese and Watford owners the Pozzo family have become specialists in the 'three-club loan deal'.
In 2013, the Hornets sent Udinese loanee Steve Leo Beleck on loan to Stevenage.