London - The 2019/20 English Premier League season will begin on Saturday, August 10, officials announced on Thursday, with the transfer window closing two days earlier.

The transfer window will shut at 5:00 pm local time (1600 GMT) on Thursday, August 8 - the second successive year where the summer window will close before a new season starts.

It was back in September 2017 that Premier League clubs agreed to a rule amendment that would see the summer window shut on the Thursday before the season started.

Last year the window closed in August 9, with Manchester United beating Leicester 2-1 at Old Trafford when the season started on Friday, August 10.