EPL players suspect clubs of dirty tricks

PREMIER LEAGUE footballers believe that clubs are engaging in unethical practices to influence them ahead of next week’s crucial Project Restart vote. Club officials have held clandestine discussions with individual members of their squads in recent weeks, leaving players wary of their employers’ motives at the start of a decisive week for plans to resume the season.

Sportsmail can reveal players have been left with the impression they could benefit from new contracts if they act in clubs’ interests now. Sources claim English clubs have leant on senior professionals, using their dressing-room clout to influence team-mates throughout the coronavirus crisis, whether in talks on wage reductions or with regards to players’ concerns over Project Restart. Meanwhile, some clubs have advised their stars not to play if they have any fears about returning during the pandemic. As Sportsmail revealed last week, top-flight players will be asked to sign Covid-19 code of practice agreements upon their return to training — which has been pencilled in for a week today. But some teams have intimated to players that they should not sign the agreements if they have concerns, leaving them with the impression clubs would rather they did not agree — a scenario that would throw Project Restart into disarray. Players throughout the league have serious reservations about returning to action while the coronavirus continues to kill hundreds of people a day in the UK.