This is the deadline facing Sunderland to register new signings ahead of Wycombe Wanderers clash

Lee Johnson’s side travel to Adams Park on Saturday to face fellow promotion chasers Wycombe Wanderers.

The Black Cats defeated Sheffield Wednesday 5-0 in their last game of 2021 and will hope they can carry on this momentum in another crucial game at the top of the table.

They will also be buoyed by the signing of Trai Hume who joined the club from Linfield earlier this week.

But will Hume be eligible to face Wycombe? Here, we take you through all the rules surrounding player registration and what it means for Sunderland:

What do the rules state?

According to the EFL website, a player’s registration must be ‘received by The League by 12.00 noon on the day prior to such match; and confirmed by the League to be in order’.

What does this mean for Sunderland?

If Sunderland make any signings between now and the weekend that they want to feature against Wycombe Wanderers, then they must register them by noon on Friday, January 7, 2022.

Even though the clash against Wycombe is scheduled to kick-off at 12:30pm on Saturday, rather than a traditional 3pm kick-off, this deadline is unaffected.

This rule was implemented to give teams the same deadline (noon the day before), no matter when their kick-off is scheduled for, in order to prevent any teams receiving an advantage or disadvantage due to TV selections.

A win for Sunderland on Saturday would see them end the day top of the League One table.

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