Sheffield United keep a close eye on travel advice in case they are forced to change pre-season plans

Chris Wilder, the United manager, wants to take his squad to Europe as part of its preparations for the 2020/21 campaign - which is scheduled to begin on September 12 - before arranging a couple of behind closed doors matches against domestic opposition.

But with countries such as France reporting rising numbers of Covid-19 cases, coaching staff at Bramall Lane could be forced to make alternative arrangements at short notice.

There has been speculation the French government could consider reintroducing quarantine measures to control the spread of the respiratory disease across the country, while Spain - another popular destination for English teams - is also under threat of being added to Great Britain’s ‘watchlist’ according to one minister.

Portugal, where United have spent the past two summers, did not feature on Wilder’s list of possible destinations after he decided a change of location was required earlier this year in order to keep things “fresh”.

United have yet to confirm the identity of those clubs they are considering facing in warm-up fixtures - with at least two of those being scheduled to take place abroad. United finished ninth in the top-flight last term, only a season after being promoted from the Championship.

But they did not complete their fixture programme until July, after social distancing measures forced competition to be suspended in March.

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