Project Restart: Crunch Talks Set for Coming Week, Calls to Scrap Relegation & Troy Deeney's Return

Round three of coronavirus tests has come and gone, and with four positive diagnoses from 1,008 tests, there is a cautious optimism that the Premier League will soon be able to return.

Teams have now voted to return to contact training, meaning the focus is now switching towards getting players physically fit enough to take part in matches over the remainder of the season.

Here's the latest on Project Restart.

Clubs to Meet on Thursday Morning to Begin Restart Plans

After unanimously agreeing to return to close-contact training, Premier League sides will again meet on Thursday morning to start the process of finalising a plan for football's return.

As noted by the Evening Standard, the meeting will see clubs again discuss the idea of using neutral venues for some high-risk fixtures, and emergency plans for how to end the season prematurely if needed will also be on the agenda.

Decisive Meeting Scheduled for 4 June

Sky Sports News add that another meeting has been scheduled for 4 June, by when league officials hope to have everything finalised.

With so many things to be discussed, nobody is expecting the entire return plan to be thrashed out in just one sitting, but the hope is that everyone will be on board in a week's time.

Some Clubs to Call for Relegation to Be Scrapped

The Athletic add that scrapping relegation will be forced on to the agenda by a number of clubs who have concerns over 'imbalances in the fixture list'.

The issue is that, if the season has to be suspended after just a few games back, some teams will have had tougher fixtures than others. The example given is West Ham, whose first three games back would be against Wolves, Tottenham and Chelsea, so they could tumble into the relegation zone before the season gets cut off early.

The motion is unlikely to be passed, with 14 sides needed to support the plans before they can be made official, but it's worth a try.

Players & Managers Warned About Swearing During Games

Even with crowds in stadiums, cameras and microphones sometimes pick up players and managers letting the odd swear word out. According to the Daily Mail, clubs are worried about what could be heard in an empty stadium.

Several top clubs have been left alarmed by the clarity of the audio from Bundesliga games, noting that a lot of what is said on the pitch is being picked up. Jean-Clair Todibo appeared to be caught telling Erling Haaland to 'f**k his grandmother', and Premier League sides are understandably keen to avoid seeing that happen to them.

Media enhancements will also be on the agenda in Thursday's meeting and there are plans to pipe in crowd noise to try and make matches feel more realistic, but many are still concerned about what may be heard on the pitch.

Fixture Schedule Could Be Non-Stop

If you like watching football for about 12 consecutive hours each day, then you might just be in luck. According to The Mirror, that's the kind of schedule that is being discussed to try and get the season finished as soon as possible.

Saturdays and Sundays could see no less than five fixtures held between 12-8pm, and broadcasters are also pushing for Champions League-style midweek fixtures to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

Can you guess when this will all be discussed? Yep, Thursday's meeting. Busy day.

Troy Deeney to Return to Training

Watford captain Troy Deeney's issues with returning to training have been well-publicised, but the Englishman has now confessed to CNN that he is ready to go back after holding some encouraging talks with Premier League and government officials, as well as health experts.

"I only said that I wasn't going back for the first week," he said. "People took that as I'll never go back."

Deeney also revealed that he has been forced to deal with abhorrent abuse on social media, with some so-called fans wishing coronavirus on the striker's young son, and he admitted that he was worried other players would keep their concerns quiet in an attempt to avoid the criticism that has come with his actions.

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