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Chelsea

Can Gonzalo Higuain feature in the Europa League if he joins Chelsea on loan in January?

The changes came into effect at the start of the season

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Gonzalo Higuain continues to be linked with a move to Chelsea, but can he feature in the Europa League should his expected loam move go through as expected?

Well, the answer is yes and this is down to the series of changes Uefa made to the format of its European club competitions at the start of this season.

From kick-off time changes to teams permitted to have 12 substitutes should they reach the final of either of UEFA’s showpiece competitions as well as gaining automatic entry into the Champions League, changes have been aplenty.

But arguably the biggest overhaul is the one that involves player registration.

It has now been confirmed that up to three January signings will be allowed to play for their new clubs during the knockout stages of the the Champions League and Europa League, without restrictions.

That means that players will be able to represent two different clubs in the same competition this season and going forward.

This would have been helpful for Arsenal and Barcelona last term as they weren't able to field January signings Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Philippe Coutinho in their respective competitions after Christmas.

The Europa League Trophy (Image: Valery HACHE / AFP)

Now this particular rule is a thing of the past and Chelsea could be affected by it this month.