Sheffield United are set to make their feelings known during crucial Premier League summit

Chris Wilder’s side were seventh in the table when the season was suspended nearly 10 weeks ago because of coronavirus; only five points outside the Champions League qualification positions with a game in hand on fourth-placed Chelsea.

Steve Bettis, the United chief executive, reminded fellow top-flight clubs last week that football has an obligation to explore ways of returning to action “as soon as it is safe to do so” because of the vast number of people it employs.

That is expected to see Bramall Lane’s representatives support the PL’s effort to begin staging matches again on June 12 or 19 when stakeholders discuss the situation again tomorrow. As The Star has revealed, United entered previous teleconferences vowing to listen to “all the arguments involved” before reaching a view themselves. But the strengthening of their position - with Wilder also insisting the present campaign must be completed before “we start worrying about the next one” - suggests key figures behind the scenes are growing frustrated by the apparent lack of progress despite the Bundesliga’s decision to lift its own fixture suspension yesterday.

A selection of players from every top-flight squad in England are believed to have already undergone routine testing for the respiratory disease, as the PL looks to trial a programme which would see 40 members of their playing and coaching staff tested twice a week if ‘Project Restart’ is actioned.

The results of those procedures, which are being organised by a firm called Prenetics, are expected to be revealed shortly. Unless an unusually high number of positive samples are returned, clubs are expected to begin expanding their training programmes this week.

Although John Egan and Enda Stevens have insisted United’s players are prepared to trust the medical experts, including their own in-house doctors, Watford’s Troy Deeney and Aaron Cresswell of West Ham both criticised efforts to begin staging fixtures again over the weekend.

“They’re talking about not playing in front of fans until 2021,” Deeney said. “So if it’s not safe enough for fans to be inside a stadium, which should it be safe for players to be in there?”

“The Government say we can go back to work from June 1 but we can’t get a haircut until mid-July,” he added.

Cresswell believes players have not been consulted enough on the issue, and appeared to call for them to be polled during a series of messages posted on his social media accounts.

“The most important thing is everyone’s health and well-being,” he said. “Football can wait.

“I’ve got a five week old baby daughter and, I’ll be honest, I’m petrified. There has been a lot of talk about how quick we can get football back. But the focus should be on people’s health and staying indoors.”

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