When calling up his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, Brazil manager Tite named players from Chelsea, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
After not having them available at the previous break, he wants to count on the likes of Alisson, Ederson, Emerson Royal, Thiago Silva, Fabinho, Fred, Raphinha and Gabriel Jesus for the next games.
Liverpool and Manchester City would be the hardest hit by any quarantine measures, having two players each in the selection, however it’s certain Marcelo Bielsa wouldn’t want to be without Raphinha due to quarantine, and Nuno Espirito Santo has several worries, with multiple South American countries calling up Tottenham players.
Now even though Premier League clubs are still to announce how they’ll deal with the issue, a report from Argentine outlet TyC Sports brings some news about it.
According to their story, the UK government will now allow players to travel directly to England following the international fixtures in South America, as long as they go through a five-day quarantine when they arrive.
Unlike in the last break, the time-lapse was cut in half, and this time the players can train individually in order to stay in shape.
Speaking to the Brazilian media on Monday, national team director Juninho Paulista also showed his confidence regarding the agreement, claiming it should be announced soon.
“This issue started in conversation on the last FIFA date, when we discharged the punishment for athletes to play, in their local games and for the Champions League. It was a demonstration of good faith, precisely aiming at the FIFA date of October so that we don’t have problems and they can be released,” said Juninho (via Globo Esporte).
“The conversation was very productive, it’s well under way and I believe that in another day or two we can have this confirmation. But we’re very confident, that’s why we called up the athletes. Our certainty is that this time we will be complete.”
Brazil play Venezuela on October 7th, Colombia on the 10th and Uruguay on the 14th.
Liverpool face Watford on the 16th, and Atletico Madrid on the 19th, so Jurgen Klopp would be without Alisson and Fabinho for those matches. It’s a similar situation for Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola’s side facing Burnley and Club Brugge on those dates.
Manchester United face Leicester on the 6th, and then Atalanta on the 20th, with Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea playing against Brentford and Malmo on those dates.
Tottenham will hope to have their players back for their Europa League clash on the 21st, and for Leeds United it’s just the game against Southampton which could give Bielsa a Raphinha headache.
