As exclusively revealed by The Telegraph, the Premier League fears players from the European Economic Area (EEA) will be subject to the strict work permit regulations as non-EU players are.

That means they must have played a certain percentage of their country's internationals in the past two years - a figure that varies depending on world ranking - unless they command a fee above the media in the Premier League and cannot be aged under 18.

Below is a squad of players who would have fallen foul of those regulations.

Simon Mignolet

Joined Sunderland for £2million in 2010 before making an appearance for Belgium so would have been denied a work permit. Cost £9m when joining Liverpool, which would have been a large enough fee for him to be granted a work permit.

Gael Clichy