Udinese director Pierpaolo Marino has claimed that the Premier League "is about to announce its season is over", which could spell trouble for the promotion hopes of Leeds United, West Bromwich Albion and Coventry City among other sides.
All English football is currently suspended until further notice due to the Covid-19 pandemic and as things stand it remains unclear if, how and when the 2019/20 campaign will be concluded.
Reports earlier in the week suggested that preliminary preparations were being put in place for the Premier League to return behind closed doors at the start of June.
However, Marino has told SportItalia that the English top-flight is set to follow in the footsteps of the Belgian Juliper League and announce the season is over.
Last week, the Belgian first-tier season was brought to a premature end and Club Brugge were crowned champions.
Speaking to SportItalia, the Udinese director said: "The Belgian Federation has already sanctioned the end of their league, despite the threats of sanctions from UEFA.
“In England, the Premier League is about to release a similar statement, because the situation there is becoming very, very serious. I frankly just hope we can enjoy football again after the coronavirus.
“It doesn’t matter how long it takes, we need to get out of this danger zone. I am worried for the next seasons, not the old one.”
Clearly, there are question marks over the validity of Marino's statement, however, Udinese's owners also own Premier League side Watford and there are strong links between the two clubs.
What this means for the EFL and the promotion hopes of sides in the Championship, League One and League Two remains unclear but it could spell trouble for them should the decision be made not to move sides up and down leagues.
Leeds and West Brom are well set to secure promotion this season, sitting in the Championship's automatic promotion places with at least a six-point cushion over the play-offs.
Coventry are five points clear at the top of League One, with a game in hand over the rest of the top six.
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The Verdict
At the moment, it seems impossible to predict what is going to happen and how the 2019/20 English season will be concluded.
Marino's claim, while not necessarily 100% accurate, does suggest that the end of the Premier League campaign is imminent, which you would imagine would be quickly followed by the EFL.
The question of what would happen to those sides in the promotion places remains unanswered, which will be a real concern to Leeds, West Brom and Coventry fans in particular.
This could spell trouble for their promotion hopes.