Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough wants the transfer window abolished after Thursday's decision by the Premier League to close the window before the top-tier season starts.

The Premier League ratified an agreement by clubs to shut the window at 5pm on the last Thursday before the season starts, instead of 11pm on August 31 each year - which means next season’s deadline for transfers by Premier League clubs will be 5pm on Thursday August 9 2018.

The new rule applies only to the acquisition of players and will apply to Premier League sides only, and has no bearing on other leagues and competitions.

Top-flight sides will still have the ability to sell players to other leagues in which the transfer window is open, such as the EFL.

Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough
Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough

EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey told the BBC earlier this week that talks over following the Premier League's lead were "well advanced", and added that he thought "the mood is that it (shutting the window before the season begins) will be an improvement".

Burton managed to get various deals over the line before the start of the season, with Jamie Allen, John Brayford and Will Miller joining on deadline day alone.

John Mousinho and Damien McCrory departed on the same day, but it was the transfer of Jackson Irvine that highlighted the perceived need for the window to shut before the start of the season.

In the last league fixture that the Brewers played - the 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday - last season's player of the year was not included in the squad for the match with speculation mounting that he was close to agreeing a move to Hull City.

That became the sideshow in a match that saw Albion extend their unbeaten run to three matches and the deal was soon concluded later on that week.

By the same token, though, Albion had benefited from taking players on loan from clubs that had decided they were surplus to requirements, with the likes of Sean Scannell and Joe Mason joining the club from Huddersfield Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively.

And Mason had an instant impact, scoring 30 seconds into his Albion debut having joined on loan just three days previously.

Albion manager Nigel Clough , however, wants to see a return to a window-less summer in order to allow clubs to be operating with flexibility and the ability to act if injury strikes.

Jackson Irvine left the Brewers after the season had started
Jackson Irvine left the Brewers after the season had started

"I don't see why we have a window," Clough said.

"I would just leave it like it used to be, where clubs could trade and have a little spell, there used to be a cut off in April, or March, the last Thursday in March and you couldn’t sign anybody after that.

"It gives you the freedom to do loans, which helps everybody with flexibility and budgets, and I don't see why we have to have a window at our level.

"I can understand at the highest level in the PL and Europe they’ve got to do that, but I don't think it helps everybody."