Premier League Considers Inaugural Winter Break Plan Ahead of TV Rights Deal Renewal

The Premier League's winter schedule has been a point of contention for managers as fixture congestion takes its toll on players.

The Premier League is giving serious consideration to finally implementing a winter break ahead of the next TV rights deal being agreed.

BBC Sport understands that the powers that be within England's top flight set up have been involved in productive talks with the likes of Sky and BT over the possibility of following their European counterparts and taking a mid-season break.

The current TV broadcast deal is due to expire at the end of the 2018/19 campaign, and it is believed that the renewal of these rights would be the perfect opportunity to greenlight an inaugural winter break in English football.

The Football Association had insisted that it would be impossible to insert a break into the season before the end of the current £5.14 billion deal that sees 168 matches broadcast live.

However, as discussions over the next deal - thought to be getting announced in mid-February - continue to take place, positive talks have been held ahead of the next three-year rights package.

A Premier League statement reads as: "The Premier League has been in discussions with the FA and EFL for several months regarding the challenges of the increasingly congested English football calendar and ways in which we can work together to ease fixture congestion while also giving players a mid-season break.

"Provided space can be found in the calendar, we are open to this in principle and will continue constructive discussions with our football stakeholders to seek a workable solution."

The prospect of a break has been touted to occur around the turn of the year - a surefire way to appease football fans who see the traditional festive fixture list as a 'keep at all costs' scenario.

Premier League managers such as Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho have called on the Premier League to enforce a winter break in a bid to allow their players to return for the second half of the season refreshed.

Others, such as Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, are resistant to a winter break being implement however, while England manager Gareth Southgate believes a break would allow his stars to be fitter in a bid to try and end their 51-year wait for an international trophy.

The Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A and La Liga all benefit from a three-week break from matches around Christmas time.