Report – West Brom facing short summer break if promoted, potential PL kick-off date detailed
West Brom could be given just two weeks off before starting their Premier League campaign if they secure promotion this summer, according to The Times.
While there has been no concrete indication as yet on when the Championship plans to resume action, a recent interview from Charlton Athletic sporting director Steven Gallen suggested that his side are aiming for a return date of around June 20th.
That date has since been echoed by Preston North End manager Alex Neil, who has argued that the second tier must start by then to give clubs enough time to fit in all of their remaining matches.
All clubs in the Championship have nine games left to play, with those at the top end of the table also facing a further three matches if they have to compete in the play-offs.
According to The Times, Premier League clubs will meet on Thursday to discuss potential plans for the 2020/21 campaign, and one of the measures that could be implemented is a start date of August 22nd.
Depending on how congested the EFL decide to make the run-in for the second tier, that could leave West Brom and other promoted clubs with little time to prepare for the new season.
Other ideas that are said to be on the table include the abandonment of the winter break, and the prospect of opening the transfer window for a 12-week period between August and the end of October.
At this stage, there are a lot of ifs surrounding the matter, but if we do get promoted, and if the Premier League do decide to enforce a restart date of August 22nd, that would represent a hectic period of football for West Brom players that could stretch right the way up to the end of the 2020/21 campaign.
To give some context to that date, the opening match of the current top flight campaign was played on August 9th last year – just 13 days earlier than it would be this time around.
English football has been suspended since March 13th, with the Premier League set to return on June 17th – a period of over three months.
Somewhere along the line that gap was always going to have to be condensed down, and in many respects starting next season so early would be a necessary evil, but it will still represent a considerable slog for players and coaching staff alike.
In other West Brom news, Reliable journo: Agent names preferred transfer destination for 21y/o reported West Brom target.