The Premier League has agreed to allow clubs to extend players' contracts which are expiring in June on a short-term basis.
Discussions are ongoing as to how to resume the league season under 'Project Restart', with football not expected to return before June 19 at the earliest.
But in addition to that, there were fears amongst Premier League teams that star players who are out of contract from June 30 this summer - including Chelsea winger Willian and Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen - would be able to walk free while the season is still ongoing.
But following a meeting between top-flight executives on Monday, May 11, clubs have "unanimously" decided to allow short-term extensions to avoid such a scenario.
A statement from the Premier League read: “At Monday’s Shareholders’ meeting, Premier League clubs unanimously agreed to be allowed to enter into short-term contract extensions with players whose deals are due to expire on June 30 of this year.
“As the UK government indicated on Monday its willingness for live sport to return behind closed doors from June 1, the Premier League is exploring paths to resuming the 2019/20 season after this date.
“Clubs were concerned over expiring player contracts and registration issues posed by the potential of the 2019/20 season extending beyond 30 June.
“So, it was agreed by all shareholders that clubs and players can mutually agree to extend their contracts beyond June 30 until the end of the season.”
According to a report from ESPN, an agreement between all parties must be reached by June 23 to extend the deals, which can run until the conclusion the ongoing campaign.
