to be fair if it’s 5 subs it’s not that mad, think Germany have had more than 7 subs so far? And it means we can give more of the kids gametime as well
You're allowed nine subs on the bench in the Bundesliga. Not a COVID thing though, it's been in place since the start of the season.
But yeah, they've upped the number of subs you're allowed to make from three to five. However, to minimise time wasting, there are only three 'slots' for making those subs in a game.
Be interesting to see if nine subs on the bench becomes popular in the PL. I'd say it mainly benefits rich clubs, who can stock the bench with stars and means squad harmony is easier as there's fewer difficult decisions on who to leave out of the squad on a given matchday. Reckon if it comes in permanently there'd need to be a rule about two of the slots going to Under-21 players or something like that.