Premier League set for coronavirus showdown talks with bosses split shutdown

Premier League clubs will come together to discuss a potential shut down over the festive period in an effort to stop the spread of Covid, according to reports.

Teams up and down the country have been hit by outbreaks as the new variant causes havoc.

As a result there have been a raft of postponements, with half of this weekend's game being called off after several midweek fixtures also fell foul of the same issue.

The Premier League have resisted calls to pause the season.

They said it "assesses (postponement) applications on a case-by-case basis" and decisions are "based on existing rules and Covid-19 postponement guidance issued to all clubs".

However, The Times now reports that Premier League chiefs will meet on Monday to discuss a potential circuit breaker despite underlining their commitment to fulfilling fixtures where possible.

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Overall, nine matches have been called off due to recent outbreak with Tottenham's match with Brighton on December 12 the first to be postponed.

Individuals have been split as to whether they think the season should be temporarily halted.

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has called for a stop to the season to stem the spread.

"We think we should postpone the full round of Premier League games this weekend," he said on Thursday morning.

"Covid cases are going through the roof at all Premier League clubs, everyone is dealing with it and having problems.

"To postpone this round and also the Carabao Cup round would give everyone a week at least, or four or five days to clean and do everything at the training ground so everything is clean and you break the chain."

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, who has been a major advocate of getting players vaccinated, is not in agreement however.

He said: "Stopping the league is probably not the right thing but with the schedule we have to be more flexible.

"So far football kept it pretty much outside with the testing regimes, the massive disciplinary things for the boys did really well, but this time it is really difficult.

"I don't see the massive benefit of it [stopping the Premier League] because we come back [and] it is still the same."

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish echoed that sentiment, stating: "We haven't had the level of postponements to get a real pause. We would rather get the games over with that we can, while we still can. I would be against that (a firebreaker) right now but we'll see how things develop.'

"Rules are put in place to fill the squad. There are many reason you can and can't fill the squad. We are all aware of the situation that is going on, we need to keep our players safe from catching Covid.

"Obviously it's unfortunate, we've had situations with very key players out and have had to play. It's the same with injuries."