A Premier League club has signalled a belief the season will run into September by extending a player’s contract for a further three months.
It was an indication that the campaign will not be concluded by the end of June, when he would have been a free agent, and that it could be deep into the summer before the 2019-20 season reaches its belated conclusion.
The player, whose deal is up in three months’ time and who was unlikely to get a contract extension otherwise, has put pen to paper to keep him in their squad until September 30.
The Premier League is considering all options in an attempt to play the remaining 92 games of the campaign, which are worth about £750 million (Dh3.4 billion) in their broadcast rights deal.
All professional football in England has been postponed until April 30, although it is widely expected the delay will extend beyond that, and the Premier League is meeting on Friday to consider the situation. A later finish to the current campaign has the potential to impact upon the 2020-21 season, which is due to start on August 7.
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin admitted the current season "would probably be lost" if it does not resume by the end of June, but the way the Premier League club has acted indicates England's top flight may last rather longer.
One reported proposal is that clubs will play games over the summer in isolated camps, staying in hotels away from their families, to try and reduce the risk of contracting the coronavirus. That would allow broadcasters to televise matches, which has huge financial implications and could be seen as a boost to national morale at a point when much of normal life has been put on hold.
It is almost inevitable that if football is to resume, it will be behind closed doors, with the British government’s deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries saying on Sunday that coronavirus restrictions could last for six months.
As long as social distancing is enforced, it is hard to imagine that crowds would be permitted, while grounds including Watford's Vicarage Road and Manchester City's Etihad Stadium have been made available to the UK's National Health Service in the meantime.
However, the Premier League regards finishing the season as the best scenario. The majority of clubs have different reasons to complete the campaign, whether they are mid-table outfits who do not want to have to pay back millions of broadcast income or those who are trying to qualify for the Champions League.
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Leading Premier League players with expiring contracts
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David Silva (Age 34), Manchester City. Season stats: 28 appearances, three goals, eight assists. The Spanish playmaker's memorable decade in Manchester is coming to an end this summer, with him seeking to add a third FA Cup and possibly a first Champions League title to his 11 major trophies with the club - could his ride into the sunset be delayed? AP Photo -
Olivier Giroud (33), Chelsea. Season stats: 13 appearances, three goals. Sidelined by the early-season form of Tammy Abraham, the veteran France striker has deputised effectively as the young Englishman has struggled with injury in 2020. Scored in Premier League wins over Tottenham and Everton and the Uefa Super Cup against Liverpool. EPA -
Willian (31), Chelsea. Season stats: 37 appearances, seven goals, six assists. The Brazil winger remains a key man in a largely inexperienced squad under Frank Lampard and his influence would be sorely missed should any end-of-season complications arise. Fellow winger Pedro may be less of a priority but should both be left in limbo, the need to get Christian Pulisic back to full fitness will become more acute. Is reported to be a target for London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. PA -
Jan Vertonghen (32), Tottenham. Season stats: 26 appearances, two goals, four clean sheets. Toby Alderweireld re-signed in January but his fellow Belgium defender is yet to follow. Scored a late winner against Wolves in the league and also netted in the FA Cup exit to Norwich, while he reached 300 games for the club on Boxing Day against Brighton. Rising defensive star Japhet Tanganga's own expiring deal features an optional extension which the club are sure to trigger. Reuters -
Matty Longstaff (19), Newcastle United. Season stats: 11 appearances, three goals. The teenager has made quite an impact after joining older brother Sean in the Magpies' midfield, scoring in both meetings with Manchester United - including on his Premier League debut - as well as the FA Cup win over Rochdale. Manager Steve Bruce last month said of the local boy's contract: "It's a concern for us - I hope we can get that tied up." Reuters -
Ryan Fraser (26), Bournemouth. Season stats: 32 appearances, one goal, four assists. The Scotland winger has not enjoyed his most productive season but the Cherries will still be desperate to get a new deal sorted. Their relegation struggle provides a further layer of complication. -
Claudio Bravo (36), Manchester City. Season stats:16 appearances, four clean sheets. The veteran goalkeeper was one of Pep Guardiola's first signings at the Etidad in 2016 but whose consistently erratic form saw him lose his place to Willy Caballero , temporarily, and then Ederson, permanently. The reserve keeper is a League Cup regular who played a key role in City's recent final victory at Wembley against Aston Villa. Has been linked with a move to City's sister club in the MLS, New York City. PA -
Adam Lallana (31), Liverpool. Season stats: 22 appearances, one goal, two assists. The midfielder has returned from an injury-hit spell to make several contributions, notably scoring the late equaliser against Manchester United in October which extended Liverpool's unbeaten league run. Leicester City have been linked with a summer move for the player who has spent six years on Merseyside. Getty -
Shane Long (33), Southampton. Season stats: 24 appearances, three goals, four assists. The Irish attacker looked to be heading for the exit after moving to the Saints in 2014. The hard working, if never prolific, striker has been a regular up front alongside top scorer Danny Ings of late and is thought to be close to earning a new deal. Getty -
Andy Carroll (31), Newcastle. Season stats: 14 appearances, four assists. An all too familiar story for the former most expensive British player. Continues to be a real handful for defenders and is still popular with supporters, but injuries have once again decimated his playing time. He is on a a heavily incentivised contract in which his basic wage is inflated by appearance fees, so he has come relatively cheap for the Magpies this season, but needs games to secure a new deal. Reuters
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West Ham vice-chair Karren Brady, who had initially called for the season to be "null and void", performed a U-turn in her Sun column on Saturday and said "we all want it [football] back in a hurry".
However, the sense that there will be no early resumption was underlined when Tottenham Hotspur allowed Steven Bergwijn and Heung-Min Son to return to their home countries, just as Chelsea had let Willian to go back to Brazil to see his family.
Willian is one of 66 Premier League players who are out of contract in the summer and who would then have been ineligible to play in July. Others include his Chelsea teammates Pedro and Olivier Giroud, Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen, Leicester captain Wes Morgan, Manchester City captain David Silva and Manchester United's on-loan forward Odion Ighalo.
One of the issues to resolve is when the transfer window opens and closes. Before the Covid-19 crisis, it was due to be open from July 1 to September 1 but this new contract is a sign that will change.
As it stands, a player under contract at one club in September could not then sign for another until January.
