What is a loan deal with an obligation to buy?
- Published
It has become increasingly common in the transfer market for teams to sign a player on loan with either an obligation, or an option to buy.
But how do they work, and why are we seeing more of them?
On transfer deadline day, Manuel Akanji agreed a loan move from Manchester City to Inter Milan for £870,000.
The deal includes an option to make the move permanent for £13m, which becomes an obligation if Inter win Serie A.
This means that after the loan period has been completed, Inter would have the option to make the move permanent for the set price.
However under this agreement the club does not need to buy the player, and can return him once the loan period is up, as long as they don't win the league.
However, with an obligation to buy, the club is contractually bound to buy the loanee once the loan period has ended.
So, if Nicolas Jackson's move from Chelsea to Bayern Munich goes through, the Bundesliga club have an obligation to sign him for £56.2m.
The transfer fee can be agreed upon prior to the loan move, and the loanee may need to make a certain number of appearances to trigger the deal.
For example, Bournemouth's signing of full-back Alex Jimenez on loan from AC Milan will be made permanent if he makes 18 Premier League starts this season.
Obligation to buy loan deals are often agreed for financial reasons to help get around regulations and also comply with Financial Fair Play rules.
This means if a club does not currently have the funds to buy the player for a fee straight away, a deal like this can help the club work around financial issues.
Thank you to Lewis Renyard in Thame, Oxfordshire and Steve Holmes for the question.
This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
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