PREMIER LEAGUE clubs are now able to track and trace players during training sessions to avoid coronavirus potentially sweeping through their squads.
Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Spurs are among the 11 top-flight sides using the technology which shows how many players come into contact with a certain team-mate during a session – and for how long.
The 20 clubs tested their players and staff for a third time yesterday with just eight positive results for the virus from the opening two rounds.
While players will continually be tested during the weeks, a player could catch the virus and spread it around the team – once full contact training resumes – before the next test days later.
Football performance analysis company STATSports also helped the Premier League in their blueprint for Project Restart and the phased training.
Director and co-founder Sean O’Connor, whose firm inserts GPS pods into the training vests, said: “We looked at the stats from some pre-covid training sessions and imagined a 2m circle around a player’s feet.
“We evaluated how many times players incurred on other players and for how long.
“So, looking at pre-Covid, we had had an average of just over three seconds which was the time of the incursion. People did not realise it would be that low.
“We have worked with the Premier League and looked at specific drills pre-covid and worked out which types of drills will have higher incursion.
“Then you look at things that increase incursions and it is things like water breaks when players stand chatting next to each other.
“When the coach stops a session to give feedback you want to make sure they are social distancing.
“It is all common sense but the average time was three seconds pre-Covid including water breaks, tactical drills and small-sided games.
“One of the recent things we spoke to the Premier League about was one particular team in warm-up drills were consistently the lowest number of incursions of less than five incursions in the whole squad.
“Another team had over 15 for the same warm-up. The first-team I mentioned will have to change very little for their warm-up. Different teams will have to make different changes.”
Everton, Wolves, Crystal Palace, Southampton, Burnley and Norwich are the other clubs using this system, along with Juventus and PSG and also the FA.
Some players have used the STATSports data on their mobile phones during the lockdown and these results were shown publicly with some surprising results.
O’Connor added: “Bruno Fernandes was one who you could see was getting high speeds. Granit Xhaka and Nemanja Matic as well.
“Matic was recording speeds in excess of 35kph (22mph). Harry Maguire was another one with top speeds.
“They were using a consumer product and this allowed them to compete with each other, even though they were training in isolation.
“Jesse Lingard is somebody who’s constantly training and putting it up there, almost calling each other out.
“It got to the point where England rugby players were using it as well and you could see a little rugby versus football rivalry happening.
“One day you had rugby lads, such as Jonny May (Leicester), coming up and popping past Jesse Lingard, and sure enough Lingard was trying to overcome him.
“These are athletes at the top of their game, taking pride in what they are doing.”
