Premier League clubs will be obliged to ensure that at least half of their first-team squads are made up of “homegrown” players under drastic plans put forward by the FA to deal with Brexit. The proposal, which would reduce the number of overseas players in each 25-man squad to 12, will be put to the 20 clubs this week.

England’s top tier is under pressure to agree a deal with the FA for Brexit. If the clubs do not do so, they could face a nightmare “no-deal” scenario in which all EU players would have to fulfil the same criteria that non-EU players do now in order to get a work permit.

The clubs can have up to 17 overseas players in their squads under