The Premier League will today have its final Project Restart meeting of the week as chiefs hold talks with the UK Government, Police and the EFL.
The staging of matches at neutral venues will be discussed after discussions on Wednesday with managers and players paved the way for the Premier League to seek agreement on protocols for a safe return to training.
The League invited club captains and managers to share their thoughts on a return to action during conference calls on Wednesday, and they now hope to get the backing of clubs for its plans at a shareholders' meeting on Monday May 18.
But hopes that competition could resume by June 12 are in doubt after some top-flight managers called for a four-week mini pre-season before the League restarts.
As reported by Standard Sport on Wednesday, this potential delay to Project Restart raises the possibility that the Premier League will miss Uefa's request to have finalised plans for completing the season by May 25.
The details of Wednesday’s meeting will now be digested by clubs and relayed to the other players in the squad, before a vote on the training protocols at Monday's Premier League shareholders' meeting. Training – under strict guidelines – is therefore not expected to resume until at least the middle of next week once a Covid-19 testing programme has been put in place.
Players are understood to have received an eight-page document outlining Premier League protocols for a resumption of training this week.
But while player safety is the biggest hurdle to plans to restart the competition behind closed doors in mid-June, agreements still have to be secured on issues such as whether games will be played at neutral venues or continue on a home-and-away basis, and whether the former should lead to relegation being abandoned.
What happens next
Thursday May 14
The final meeting of the week will see the Premier League joined by the EFL for a meeting with the UK Government and police where the plan to stage matches at neutral venues will be discussed.
Monday May 18
A potential D-Day for Project Restart in terms of the English top-flight. This is where we could see Premier League clubs vote on whether to proceed with the resumption of the season under Project Restart.
Additional reporting by the Press Association
