The football has stopped all around Europe. The coronavirus pandemic is creating a lot of problems all around the globe and in such circumstances, football is not coming first. But, if for a second we speak about the current season, we will stumble upon a lot of unanswered questions. Manchester United’s season has been abruptly paused and we are not really sure when the matches will come back on the schedule. So, what could this all mean for United?
A Lot Of Games In A Short Timeframe
The football in England was initially stopped until 3 April, but even when that was announced, it was obvious that it will be impossible to return to football in such a short amount of time. Premier League, The FA and the English Football League then prolonged it until 30 April, but even that leaves questions wide open. The situation in the United Kingdom is far from pretty and is expected to get worse in the coming weeks, so the league might not reaturn on 1 May either.
With UEFA’s postponement of EURO 2020 to the summer of 2021, the European football body announced they will want all domestic competitions (plus the Champions League and Europa League) to end by 30 June. If the league restarts on 1 May, United will have to play nine games in those eight weeks, plus at least the quarterfinal match in the FA Cup and possibly one or two more and then there is the Europa League problem. Potentially, Man United would in this scenario be expected to play as many as 18 matches in the span of two months. And that is if the football restarts on time.
A Different Transfer Window
If the season is to really finish on by 30 June, Man United will be playing matches for much longer into the first half of the year than usual. That would mean that working out on new signings will be almost impossible in June. Other clubs all around the Europe will also be playing and thinking about making moves in and out will be more complicated during that month than that is the case in any other year. Also, players’ contracts are expiring on 30 June, which could lead to some interesting situations.
Nevertheless, UEFA could make a decision to allow clubs to prolong their summer transfer window for later into the summer, including even some parts of September. Usually, all business around Europe must be done in the first couple of days of September, but now that might be longer, also depending on when the new league campaigns will start. If Premier League 2019-20 really ends in late June, it will be almost impossible to see it start in early August, as is usually the case. That is why the Devils will have to adjust their transfer business.
Reaching Champions League Might Be Different
Man United’s main goal this season, amidst all this chaos, remains to return to Champions League football. Such feat might become trickier due to a huge number of matches that will be expected to play in the short amount of time, but the good thing for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his team is that it will be the same for everyone. This youthfull squad might be able to make the most out of it and finish in top four, or even top five if the UEFA ban against Man City stands. It will be a few very interesting months when the football returns.
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