Premier League: Why Chelsea and Tottenham need season to finish by June 30

There has been plenty of conjecture surrounding the issue of players' contracts since the football season, along with almost all normal life, was placed into a state of limbo by the measures required to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

Players signing short-term extensions to tide them over for the remainder of the elongated campaign has been mooted, but that doesn't account for those who have already agreed pre-contract deals to move clubs on July 1.

Preventing those who have signed such agreements from playing against their former employers is another suggestion, but one that legal experts believe would be a restraint of trade.

So how about we leave it there and keep things simple? Let's assume the most certain thing, which is that players who are out of contract on June 30 cease to be employed by that club - they join another or become a free agent.

Several teams would find July to be a considerably more difficult month to compete in England's top flight than June was, should that scenario transpire.

Chelsea's decimated forward line

Coronavirus pandemic and disrupted season aside, which I know is almost impossible to imagine, Chelsea will be mightily relieved that unlike last summer, when they were under a transfer ban for breaking Fifa rules, they are now able to bring in new faces.

As if being unable to sign anyone is not shackling enough, when you have the deals of a handful of established first-team players expiring, you need to be able to sign replacements.

In the Blues' last Premier League fixture they thrashed Everton 4-0. Perhaps more impressive was their previous outing, when they beat Liverpool 2-0 in the FA Cup fifth round.

Both matches saw Chelsea start with a front three of Pedro, Olivier Giroud and Willian - all three of whom are out of contract on June 30.

Gulp.

That is £65m worth of player walking out of Stamford Bridge for nothing.

More importantly, the impact those players leaving may have on the race for Champions League qualification could be huge with Chelsea currently occupying fourth place.

Their final nine fixtures include matches against all of the current top seven, other than Manchester United and Leicester.

Chelsea front three stats

• Willian: 329 apps, 59 goals, 59 assists
• Pedro: 201 apps, 43 goals, 28 assists
• Olivier Giroud: 76 apps, 21 goals, 13 assists

Should that trio leave, then Chelsea's likely front three would be Callum Hudson-Odoi, Tammy Abraham and Christian Pulisic.

While still pretty impressive, it is a front three with 61 Premier League starts between them, compared to one with 393.

And the only back-up would be the very hit-and-miss Michy Batshuayi.

The Blues' contract issues don't end in the attacking positions either. Willy Caballero, who for large parts of this season has displaced the world's most expensive goalkeeper Kepa, is also due to leave at the end of June.

So too is Netherlands international Marco van Ginkel but I'm including that for whimsy more than anything else, and give yourself a huge bonus point if you remembered he was still a Chelsea player.

The most recent of his four first-team appearances came against Swindon in the League Cup in 2013, two months after the midfielder joined for £8m from PSV.

Further holes in Spurs' defence?

Tottenham's biggest single issue since their form began to tail off in early 2019, remarkable run to the Champions League final aside, has been their inability to defend.

Spurs have kept just eight clean sheets in their last 52 matches.

Uncharacteristically, Jose Mourinho hasn't been able to turn that around since he replaced Mauricio Pochettino as boss in November, with only three of those coming in his 26-game spell as head coach.

While he has chopped and changed with his defence there is one player that has really emerged through that period: Japhet Tanganga.

The Tottenham academy graduate made an impressive Premier League debut against Liverpool on January 11 and Mourinho has increasingly relied on him since then, using Tanganga at centre-back, in both full-back positions and even as a wing-back.

From total obscurity the 21-year-old England youth international has started 10 of Spurs' last 14 matches.

But his deal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium expires on June 30.

Joining him on the departure list as things stand is Jan Vertonghen, very much at the opposite end of his Spurs career in terms of games, but in the same boat contractually.

Unlike fellow Belgian Toby Alderweireld, Vertonghen hasn't committed his future to the club.

A fairly lukewarm time of it this season makes it easy to forget just how good a defender he has been for the club. He's certainly justified Tottenham's £12m investment in more than 300 appearances since joining from Ajax in 2012.

But having just turned 33, whether his best moments have been and gone is another matter.

Although nowadays his position in the team is by no means a formality, should Vertonghen leave along with Tanganga, it would leave Spurs desperately short defensively.

And they're already barely able to scrape together an effective backline.

Premier League top five finish odds

• Chelsea - 1/6
• Manchester Utd - 2/5
• Wolves - 3/1
• Tottenham - 9/2
• Sheffield Utd - 13/2
• Arsenal - 7/1

Odds via Sky Bet correct as of 11:00 BST April 22

Sitting just four points behind fifth-placed Manchester United, and possible Champions League qualification, Tottenham's season is far from over.

So they need to keep clean sheets.

What about the other top five contenders?

Manchester United won't be losing too much sleep over Timothy Fosu-Mensah's contract expiring, but they might well be looking into extending a certain striker's loan deal.

Odion Ighalo has made quite the impact since joining from Chinese Super League club Shanghai Greenland Shenhua in January, a deal that was mocked as unambitious at the time.

Four goals and one assist in the Nigerian's four starts is pretty impressive. He has only appeared as a late substitute in the Premier League though.

The effect his return to China may have on United's push for the top five could be tied to whether or not the delay to the season allows Marcus Rashford to return from injury.

Talking of loan deals and Manchester United, where will they stand on this one? The club is battling it out with Sheffield United for a European place, and one of the Blades' best players is borrowed from Old Trafford.

Would Manchester United go against their own interests and agree to extend Dean Henderson's loan beyond June 30, potentially helping a rival secure European football at their expense?

Luckily for us, we dismissed those ifs and buts didn't we, so Henderson goes back to his parent club.

And the Blades also lose fellow loanees Richairo Zivkovic and Panagiotis Retsos, and out-of-contract quintet Phil Jagielka, Jack Rodwell, Leon Clarke, Kieron Freeman and Ricky Holmes.

While squad depth would take a hit, there is just one Premier League start and four substitute appearances between all seven of those players, so no great loss.

But midfielder powerhouse John Lundstram will walk out of Bramall Lane for nothing, too.

He has played in 27 of their 28 top-flight matches this season, scoring four goals and assisting three.

Should the club lose him and Henderson, that would be two huge parts of the consistent spine that Sheffield United's unlikely success has been built upon, gone.

Top five outsiders Arsenal don't have any first-team players out of contract, but they would still be affected by the season running into July.

Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos and Flamengo defender Pablo Mari are both on loan until the end of June, but their departures shouldn't really impact the Gunners.

Ceballos' contribution has been minimal - he's only started 10 league matches. That is nine more than Mari.

The only club less affected is Wolves, with reserve goalkeeper John Ruddy the solitary player they would lose. Cue an injury or suspension to Rui Patricio and this coming back to bite me.

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