Premier League: Brexit won't impact foreign player quota

The Premier League announced Wednesday it has no plans to reduce the number of foreign players a club can sign after Brexit.

Currently, clubs can have up to 17 non-homegrown players in their squads. The Premier League indicated the rules will remain the same.

"There is no evidence that stronger quotas than exist now would have a positive impact on national teams," the league said in a statement. "We approach this matter in the interests of British football as a whole and have held positive discussions with the EFL and the Scottish Professional Football League, who both agree that Brexit should not be used to weaken playing squads in British football, nor to harm clubs' ability to sign international players."

The Football Association reportedly recommended Premier League clubs reduce the quota of overseas players from 17 to 13 and increase the amount of playing time for their British counterparts.

West Ham co-chairman David Gold said he was happy with the league's current arrangement.

"It's working," he said, according to the Guardian's Ed Aarons. "Why would you change it? ... We are very supportive of English football. We want it to be successful. But we don't want to be doing things that (aren't) going to work. We've got to look at the options and look at the evidence."

Five clubs, including Manchester City, have already registered the maximum 17 players allowed. Four other clubs, including Chelsea, have 16.

According to the CIES Football Observatory, 59 percent of players in the Premier League are foreign.

With the British government negotiating the terms of its exit from the European Union, it's unclear whether players from outside the EU will have greater difficulty obtaining a work permit.