Pranav Nair
Manchester United take an unnecessary risk ahead of Europa League campaign
According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United have given permission to a number of their players to holiday abroad.
United ended their Premier League season on a high by confirming a top-four finish. Our season is, however, far from done with the club’s Europa League campaign set to resume next month.
The likes of Nemanja Matic, Victor Lindelof, and Odion Ighalo are among the players who jetted off ahead of United’s return to European action. (h/t Daily Mail)
This could prove to be an unnecessary risk. The UK re-imposed a 14-day quarantine restriction on all travellers from Spain last week. With the COVID-19 pandemic not appearing to slow down, there is a risk of futher action being taken. (h/t Daily Mail)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that the travel corridor could be closed on other European countries at short notice amid fears over a second wave of the virus. (h/t Daily Mail)
This could prove to be troublesome if any of our players are directly involved. It can be argued that the players deserve time off after bursting their guts to get us into the top four.
Also with a 5-0 lead to take into the second leg against LASK, we can afford to give a number of players a break. However, being quarantined will see them run the risk of missing the quarterfinal first leg on August 10.
According to the report, the United squad is due to report back at the end of the week. It is unclear how many more of them have travelled abroad.
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The club admits that no players have gone to countries on the UK’s red list. They insist that the players had checked with the club beforehand and amended their plans accordingly. United will continue to monitor the situation and contact the players if necessary. (h/t Daily Mail)
Despite the precautions, it must be said that the players are taking an unnecessary risk at this point of time. Lindelof, for example, is in France, one of the countries at a real risk of being added to the red zone.
