The English Football Association announced today that the 2020/21 Premier League season will kick off in the second week of September and will conclude on May 26. The new league season will commence a week after the first international break since the resumption of football, scheduled in the first week of September.
Transfer window and break for Europe aspirants
The English domestic season will finish with the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Arsenal on August 1, meaning that the 2020/21 season will start just 41 days after the conclusion of the current campaign.
The FA had previously announced that the transfer window will open on July 27, a day after the conclusion of the Premier League campaign and will shut on October 5, meaning teams will have three full weeks to assess their squad and sign players if they wish to.
While the English domestic season will finish in a week's time, a few teams will continue their European adventure in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.
Manchester City and Chelsea will head to Portugal and Germany, respectively, to play the second leg of UEFA Champions League round-of-16 ties. City hold a slender 2-1 lead over La Liga champions Real Madrid while Chelsea have a huge task on their hands as they aim to overturn a 0-3 deficit against Bundesliga holders Bayern Munich.
Over in the Europa League, Manchester United have a 5-0 lead over LASK ahead of their second leg clash while Wolves are level on aggregate with Olympiakos but have an away goal after their 1-1 draw in Greece.
The Europa League final is scheduled for August 21 and the Champions League final a couple of days later, meaning that the English clubs will have less than three weeks to prepare for the new campaign if they reach the final of either competition.
The FA is contemplating on allowing these teams to commence their 2020/21 Premier League season a week after it begins on September 12, provided they reach the latter stages of the Champions League or the Europa League.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Laurence Griffiths
