Speaking to Football Insider, former Leeds United player Noel Whelan has suggested that the idea from FIFA to extend player contracts until this season is completed will be a welcome one.
The Whites have had an excellent season this year in the Sky Bet Championship and the hope will be that this campaign can be resumed once the pandemic has cleared up so the club can crack on get back into the Premier League.
Indeed, despite some determined to wind Whites fans up this last few weeks that the campaign is going to be declared null and void, it does seem as though the plan remains to see out the season at the highest levels of the game.
And, when asked about FIFA’s plan to let contracts be extended past their current expiry date so the overhang of the season can be seen in, Whelan was supportive of the move.
He said:
“Yeah, absolutely. I think it’s imperative that we keep the squad healthy and in a good frame of mind and the right numbers.
“We’ve got the numbers, we’ve got the players that we wanted and fit or not, this is giving them the opportunity to get fit, get into a good frame of mind and finish the season off whenever that takes place and starts again.
“This is a chance for a lot of clubs, not just for Leeds United.”
Is Whelan right?
Yes
No
Without doubt, this was going to be a headache for every club given that loans and contracts usually expire come the end of the campaign in the summer.
This season, once it resumes, is set to pass the regular date for such expirations and so it sounds as though the plan will be to avoid upsetting squads as much as possible by extending the deadlines.