Premier League clubs allowed to hand 'mini-contracts' to out-of-contract players

Premier League clubs have agreed to allow short-term contract extensions until the end of the season for players whose deals are set to finish on June 30, 2020.  The suspension of football in England due to the coronavirus outbreak has seen the 2019-20 season on hold since March.

The UK government has already given the green light to the ‘Project Restart’ as the authorities in the country have always stressed a desire to see out the leagues on the pitch but now that the play is unable to resume until June 1, issues regarding expiring contacts have risen.

The English football season usually concludes at the end of June and player contracts are therefore aligned to it. However, this time, some clubs were in a position where they could lose players without any fault before the schedule was concluded.

After a shareholders' meeting on Monday, all Premier League clubs have agreed to allow mutual short-term extensions until the end of the season. Premier League chief Richard Masters said, “What we decided is to ensure as far as possible that clubs complete the season with the same squad they had available prior to the suspension of the league. Players can extend their contracts beyond June 30 until the end of the season but it must be agreed by both the parties.”

A date of June 23 is set as the deadline for the players and clubs to reach agreements and come to a conclusion. Manchester City veteran David Silva is already set to extend his contract with the club while Manchester United’s Nigerian, Odion Ighalo may face problems as the Shanghai side want him to return as the Chinese leagues are ready to begin too.

With the coronavirus situation slowly cooling down, the Premier League is yet to release the fixture list but a possible return with a Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspurs fixture is rumored.

featured image credits- mirror.co.uk