AS the coronavirus pandemic causes the sporting world to screech to an unprecedented halt, there are, of course, more important matters to consider than how and when football can return to anything approaching normality.

But when – or, indeed, if – the Premier League season eventually resumes, there may well be the added complication of several key payers’ contracts having expired at their clubs during the shutdown. 

The Premier League’s initial, tentative plan is for play to resume in early April, but it is widely accepted that this is now highly unlikely to be achievable. Should the resumption be held off beyond the beginning of July, here are five star players whose contracts, if not extended beforehand, will have expired.

David Silva

There is a strong argument to be made in favour of Silva being considered Manchester City’s greatest-ever player. The Spaniard, who arrived from Valencia in 2010, has been the creative centrepiece of four title triumphs and has been key to City’s elevation from cash-rich upstarts to feared force on the domestic and European stage.

This season is set to be his last in City blue, with the 34-year-old planning to walk away from the Etihad when his current deal expires. Although his influence has waned as he has reached his mid-30s, starting just 16 of City’s 28 league games this term, he remains a potent creative weapon and a respected dressing-room figure in Pep Guardiola’s side.

The title may be out of reach, but City hope to be able to count on Silva’s gifts as they look to cement second place and push for Champions League progress.

Willian

Perpetually linked with a move to Barcelona and with new manager Frank Lampard putting faith in the club’s crop of high-potential young players, 31-year-old Willian was expected to be a peripheral figure at Chelsea this season. But the Brazilian winger has featured in 28 of the Blues’ 29 Premier League games thus far in 2019-20 – just five starts short of his tally for last season and more than each of the two prior campaigns.

With Callum Hudson-Odoi’s protracted recovery and battle for top form following a serious Achilles injury sustained at the end of last season, Willian has stepped up, contributing seven goals and six assists in all competitions. Lampard clearly values Willian’s experience and reliability in the fight for a top-four finish.

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Willian admits he could leave Chelsea at the end of the season as he doesn't know "if it's going to be possible" to agree a new contract

( @Esp_Interativo) pic.twitter.com/qyi0t8jIOP

— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 26, 2020

Ryan Fraser

At the other end of the table, Bournemouth find themselves in serious trouble. Level on points with Watford and West Ham above them, the Cherries occupy the final relegation place at present due to their inferior goal difference. A top-flight fixture since their promotion in 2014, Bournemouth have continued to punch above their weight in the Premier League thanks, in part, to Fraser’s emergence as one of the division’s better creative wide men.

Although this season he hasn’t hit the heights he attained in 2018-19 – in which he registered 14 assists to go with his seven league goals – the Scottish international is vital to Bournemouth’s efforts to protect their Premier League place.

Jan Vertonghen

Vertonghen has been either ambiguous or evasive whenever questioned over his Tottenham future, with his current deal set to run out this summer. “I feel like everything I say will affect it in one way or another, so I prefer not to answer,” the veteran Belgian centre-back said recently when asked whether he plans to stay in north London.

With Vertonghen linked with a return to Ajax, among rumours of interest from a handful of other clubs around the continent, Spurs manager Jose Mourinho has urged the 32-year-old to commit to extending his contract.

A starter only 16 times in the league in 2019-20, Vertonghen is no longer the relied-upon, stable presence at the back he once was for Spurs, as injuries and age have hampered his mobility. But, facing an uphill battle to get back into the Champions League, Tottenham and Mourinho will be keen to keep him around a little longer.

Willy Caballero

With Willian, Olivier Giroud and Pedro all likely to be free agents before the current season has been completed, Chelsea face the prospect of their attacking depth being decimated for the run-in. 

The fact that 38-year-old goalkeeper Caballero’s deal is also set to expire wouldn’t have been considered too much of an issue just a few months ago, but the form of Kepa Arrizabalaga, the world’s most-expensive keeper, means the veteran Argentinian might be required to step between the sticks for a prolonged period – as he did for five games in February.

Arrizabalaga regained the No.1 spot before the coronavirus-necessitated shutdown, keeping clean sheets in wins over Liverpool and Everton. But the 25-year-old Spaniard is yet to truly convince at Stamford Bridge, so Caballero’s experience and comparative steadiness may yet be required again.