The A-League’s existing regulations regarding multi-club ownership have put Bournemouth goalkeeper Alex Paulsen in a limbo after his loan move to Auckland FC.
In June, the Cherries signed Paulsen from Wellington Phoenix for a reputed £2 million.
Since then, Paulsen, a New Zealand international, has joined Wellington’s rival Auckland FC, one of the teams owned by Bournemouth owner Bill Foley.
But before the 22-year-old can really start playing in Australia’s and New Zealand’s premier league, he will have to wait a few weeks.
A-League clubs are currently unable to immediately register loan players from other teams under the same ownership if they had been signed from another A-League club because of ruling known as the Caceres Clause.
It was introduced in 2016 after Manchester City signed midfielder Anthony Caceres from Central Coast Mariners then straight away loaned him to sister club Melbourne City.
A recent consultation between the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) – the governing body for the A-League – and the league’s clubs has now prompted a review of the clause.
“A player contracting rule change was supported by all clubs, with the premise that the APL reviews and maintains certain guardrails,” an A-League statement said on Friday shortly after Paulsen signed.
BBC Sport understands the APL are in favour of an amendment to the Caceres Clause in line with the view of A-League clubs but it will need to be formally signed off by Football Australia.
There is no specific timeframe on how long that process will take, although it is believed to be weeks rather than months.
Paulsen’s former club, Wellington Phoenix, have said they are “seeking further information” about his loan move to Auckland.
“While the club in principle supports adapting the ‘Caceres Clause’ to allow Paulsen to return, it has a number of questions that have yet to be answered,” they said in a statement.
“Most importantly we don’t know what ‘player registration and salary cap treatment guardrails’ will be in place that the APL say will ‘balance development of the A-League while ensuring competition integrity’.”
That has left Auckland and Paulsen uncertain of whether Paulson will be available for the start of the A-League season on 18 October.
In the interim Auckland are able to register Paulsen with Football New Zealand which would allow him to take part in friendly matches.
Last season Paulsen kept 12 clean sheets in 28 games in all competitions for Wellington, helping them qualify for the A-League end-of-season play-offs.
Born in Auckland to a South African father and a mother from Namibia, Paulsen made his senior debut for New Zealand in June.
He played three matches for the Kiwis at the Olympic Games in Paris where New Zealand went out at the group stage.