Newcastle United stars will feel the benefit of a break but Manchester City and Chelsea have jetted off to compete in the Club World Cup following a long season
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Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca and Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca and Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe
Alan Shearer has suggested that it will be 'very difficult' for Manchester City and Chelsea's players at the Club World Cup as Newcastle United's stars enjoy a period of rest.
Although Manchester City and Chelsea have newly-strengthened squads, these sides' array of internationals have not had much time to catch their breath.
Chelsea, for instance, will contest their first group game in the Club World Cup little more than a week after the bulk of the squad represented their countries in the latest international window - and less than three weeks after the Blues won the Conference League final.
Given how Manchester City and Chelsea have been backed to go far in the U.S. tournament, there is a very real possibility that these teams could still be playing right up until the showpiece on July 13. They will then need to prepare for the start of the new Premier League campaign in mid-August.
Newcastle, in contrast, who had the luxury of focusing purely on domestic competitions last season, finished up on May 25 and Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Joelinton and Harvey Barnes are among the regulars who have been off since then.
Newcastle, like Manchester City and Chelsea, had a number of key players called up for international duty, but these individuals had the benefit of a mini break before then. Aside from Tino Livramento and William Osula, who are in action at the under-21 Euros, nearly all of the squad now have an extended period without playing.
The players are not due to return to Benton for nearly a month and England boss Thomas Tuchel predicted that a proper break and a full pre-season will be a 'huge advantage' for Newcastle while Shearer, conversely, added that the Club World Cup will be 'very difficult' for their counterparts at Manchester City and Chelsea.
"Some of them have had a couple of weeks off," the Newcastle legend told Betfair. "Some have been playing international football and if they go all the way, that's another month of playing football so how they start the Premier League season in terms of those players, we'll have to wait and see...it'll be really interesting to see how the players cope."
No wonder FIFPRO, the biggest players' union is football, has this week called for the introduction of a mandatory month-long break plus a further four-week retraining period before a new campaign begins after publishing the results of an independent study, which has been informed by 70 performance and medical experts.
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