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Manchester United, City and Wolves could miss start of next season due to European commitments
- The Premier League sides could miss the start of the next campaign due to the involvements in Europe
- UEFA plans to complete the European competitions in August
- Premier League clubs set to decide when the 2020/21 campaign starts
- Mental Health and Psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 pandemic
Premier League sides Manchester United, City and Wolves could miss start of next season due to European commitments.
The three sides are still involved in Champions League and Europa League competitions that are set to end in August.
Manchester United and Wolves have both legs of their last-16 ties in Europa League still to play, while Manchester City look to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League after beating Real Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
A report by The Sun states that all 20 top-flight clubs will hold a video conference next week to decide when next season will begin after the current term was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Three weekends are reportedly on the table – August 22, August 29 and September 12 – with a ‘number of clubs’ said to prefer the later date in order to give themselves maximum time to prepare.
However, it is also claimed that Premier League officials have been warned that the new season could kick-off as early as August 22.
That could cause a major issue for United, City and Wolves, with the Europa League final set for August 21 and the Champions League final taking place on August 23.
Should each club make their respective finals, they would be unable to play their opening game of the new season and would have to fit their first fixture in during a free midweek slot.
The delay to the European campaign – combined with the prospect of an August restart in the Premier League – could also leave the trio with virtually no summer break ahead of what promises to be a gruelling season.
