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A below-the-radar change to the transfer rulebook has had a major impact on the Championship transfer window, with one manager claiming it has wiped up to 50 players from his list of potential targets and distorted the rest of the market. Championship clubs are allowed to sign up to four overseas players who would not automatically qualify for a work permit, having resisted pressure from the FA to reduce the number to two. But the Elite Significant Contribution (ESC) route has been revised so that applications are limited to players born on or after January 1, 2003. In practice, it means that Championship clubs can no longer use one of their four ESC allocations to sign an overseas player aged 24 or older unless that player already qualifies for a full Governing Body Endorsement (GBE). A prospective signing can qualify for a visa through playing regular international football, although it is easier if their country is higher in the world rankings, or based on the standard of league they have been playing in. Stoke City have brought in five new signings so far this summer, with four coming from UK clubs. The other, Djibril Soumare, was born on January 7, 2003 and spent last season on loan from Braga at Sheffield United in the Championship. FOLLOW OUR FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest Stoke City news, analysis and more via the Sentinel Stoke have made 14 permanent signings from overseas since the ESC route was introduced in 2023 and seven of those have been aged 24 or older: Andre Vidigal, Ryan Mmaee, Mehdi Leris, Eric Bocat, Tatsuki Seko, Robert Bozenik and Steven Nzonzi. Portsmouth manager John Mousinho told the Portsmouth News: "The FA have changed the squad rules regarding ESC slots, which has made things a lot more difficult - and actually a lot more costly. That’s really hurt Championship clubs in particular and had a negative financial impact on what we’re trying to do, so it has become quite difficult competing with some of the other sides in the Championship. "You get four ESC slots and there was an effort from the FA to reduce that to two. We’ve kept the four ESC slots, but what you now can’t do is bring in anyone over 23 unless they are full GBE. So if there’s a 26-year-old ESC you can’t do it. You can probably imagine if you’re trying to bring in a player who’s a little more experienced at the age of 27 or 28 and they’re ESC, they may be a bit cheaper. You now can’t do that, you just can’t bring them in. "So there’s been real pressure on fees and wages for those younger talents, they’ve just gone up and up. It’s a consequence of a decision which has certainly not been made for the benefit of Championship clubs." What do you think? Click HERE to join the debate